Blackwell church sells repurposed flowers for Memorial Day

by Charles Gerian

The First United Methodist Church is selling recycled and repurposed artificial flowers for Memorial Day.
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. Wynn also said that, during this time of social-distancing, people might be more comfortable visiting the less-crowded church than going to a major store.
“People might not want to deal with crowds or being so close to others, so they can come here and browse freely in the church gymnasium, where we have our flowers on display,” Wynn said.

The sale of washed and repurposed flowers came about in 2017 and has been going strong since. 
“If we didn’t take these flowers with us, they would just be thrown away,” Wynn said. “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.”
“We have flowers for baby land, veterans, and so much more,” Wynn said.
Pastor Cap McIlnay said 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,” McIlnay said. “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 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Methodist Church, located at the corner of 6th St. and Coolidge Ave.