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Oct. 5, 1999 Journal Staff Report Recognizing that guns are common throughout the community, the San Juan Parish of the United Methodist Church has launched a ministry to make sure no one is accidentally hurt or killed by one.
The Methodist churches in Cortez, Dolores, Mancos, Marvel, Dove Creek and Towaoc are offering cable gun locks to citizens of the Four Corners area. The parish staff recently learned of a program that began in a church in Park City, Utah, and decided to adopt it locally, ordering 288 of the locks to be distributed to parishioners and other interested individuals. "We felt like it would be an opportunity to minister," said Johnny Arrington, pastor of the Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church in Dolores. "We know there are a lot of people who hunt and who enjoy owning guns, and this is a way to make them a little safer." "It's not any kind of political stance other than 'we care,'" Arrington said. Donations will be accepted to help defray the cost of the program (the locks cost approximately $2 each), but locks will be made available to anyone who needs them, regardless of ability to pay. "We're not in it to make money. The cost is irrelevant," according to Arrington. "If we save one kid from shooting himself or maybe shooting someone else accidentally, it will have been worth every penny." To pick up locks or for additional information, call one of the Methodist Churches in the San Juan Parish: First United Methodist Church, Cortez, 565-3002. |
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