Methodist Church hosts annual flower sale for Memorial Day

The First United Methodist Church is holding its annual sale of recycled and repurposed flowers for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday.

Thurra Wynn, one of the church members overseeing the annual event, said that buying flowers from the church is more affordable than shopping for them at retail stores. She added that the proceeds from the sale go back to the church and to the community.

“We went to the cemetery here immediately after Memorial Day in 2017, and the workers had collected this humungous pile of plastic flowers. … And if we didn’t take those with us, they would just be thrown away,” Wynn said during the church's 2018 sale. “So, we took them. … This is a year-long effort we put into making these arrangements, and we do it to help not only our church, but Blackwell as well.”


The arrangements are laid out across tables in the church’s gymnasium, where they are sorted by price-range and size.

“The creations you can buy here for $20, you would be spending double on elsewhere,” Wynn said. “These take a lot of time to wash, cut, and sort out, and I couldn’t do it without the incredible women that help me here.”


According to Pastor Cap McIlnay, the money coming into the church through the sale of the flowers will support ministries in Kay County and around the world.

“Eighty-five percent of that money is invested here, locally, in Blackwell,” said McIlnay. “Circle of Care helps foster-parents and has recently created a program to help women as well. What the organization does is truly amazing, and it benefits Blackwell, Ponca City, and the surrounding areas.”


Flowers can be purchased from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Methodist Church, located at the corner of 6th Street and Coolidge Avenue.