Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church to dedicate anti-gun violence sculpture
Craig A. Kaviar’s ‘Healing the Earth’ will be dedicated at the Louisville, Kentucky church on March 22
LOUISVILLE — Renowned Louisville blacksmith and sculptor Craig A. Kaviar has created a six-foot metal sculpture, “Healing the Earth,” for the front plaza of Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church. The art piece was created from parts of guns chopped up at safe-disposal events sponsored by Guns to Gardens Louisville and metal tools donated by members of the congregation. The sculpture symbolizes the congregation’s commitment to promoting peace, justice and sustainability.
“Healing the Earth” will be dedicated at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, March 22, at the church, 142 Crescent Ave. The ceremony will be outside, weather permitting, or in the sanctuary in case of rain. It will be followed by a reception in the church fellowship hall, including displays of groups and ministries with which the church collaborates. A Taizé worship service will be offered in the sanctuary by one of the church’s partner ministries, Sisters of Sophia, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The public is welcome at both events.
Guns to Gardens Louisville is a nonprofit with the mission of transforming weapons of death and violence into instruments of healing, beauty and peace. The organization hosts gun safe-disposal opportunities, offering people with unwanted guns a way to dispose of them safely and anonymously with the assurance they will not be sold or used in acts of violence. The organization grew out of a youth/adult Sunday school class at Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church. It now includes volunteers from various faith groups and community groups across the city who are concerned about gun violence.
Kaviar has been a valued partner with Guns to Gardens Louisville since the first safe-disposal event in 2022. Guns brought to safe-disposal opportunities are dismantled by chop saws. The metal parts of the weapons are given to Kaviar to transform into garden tools, art and jewelry. So far, the effort has helped make the community safer by taking 124 unwanted guns off the streets and out of homes.
Kaviar has been forging red hot metal in Louisville for 40 years. His work is in collections of Brown-Forman, Norton Hospital, the Omni Hotel, Kentucky Center for the Arts, Christ Church Cathedral, Crab Orchard Animal Sanctuary, the Temple and businesses and homes throughout the region. In recent years, he has been featured in The New York Times, in the KET series “Kentucky Life” and in an exhibit at the Lexington Public Library.
Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church has been a strong faith presence in the community since 1890. The congregation seeks to live out its commitment to peace, justice and caring for God’s Creation by supporting Guns to Gardens Louisville, Build-A-Bed and other efforts. The church works toward sustainability through partnership with the Jefferson County Master Gardener Association and other green initiatives. As a service to the community, the church has installed two charging stations for electric vehicles in its parking lot in partnership with Mid-Kentucky Presbytery.
Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church hosted a community prayer vigil following the mass shooting at Louisville’s downtown Old National Bank in April 2023.
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