Delivering God’s Love
Petals and Promises is a group of local ladies who are repurposing funeral flowers into a small ray of sunshine for people who may be in need of a reason to smile.
For Glad Meiers, the idea started ten years ago when her son, Luke, died. At the end of a very long day, all she wanted to do was go home, pull the covers over her head and shut out the world. Instead, she was dealing with all the beautiful flowers. Her family took as many as they could, but many bouquets remained.
One day, she was visiting her brother in Hillsboro. He had a small vase of flowers in the middle of his table. He told her they came from a group who repurpose funeral flowers which the family either cannot or does not wish to deal with. She thought that was a wonderful idea.
She tried to pass it on to the garden club in Stanley, but it did not pan out. This past winter, she says, they had a funeral at the church for a man with a large family. There were so many bouquets and plants, that they filled the church and carried over into the fellowship hall. In this case all of the flowers and plants were taken by family members, but it got her thinking again about what could be done.
She visited with the staff at the funeral home and interested ladies at her church. The funeral director was happy to add this service for families.
Petals and Promises was born with a few volunteers who have discovered a creative side to themselves. They wanted to reach out to the community, including veterans, shut-ins, nursing home residents and assisted living residents. They collect any extra funeral flowers after services are done and make small arrangements from those large bouquets to deliver to the sick, elderly, or anyone that could use something to brighten their day in our community.
So far, they have been privileged to help with two ceremonies. Those involved say it has been wonderful. It gets them out to visit people they would not normally get to see because of their busy lives.
The group’s theme verse is “We love because He first loved us.” - I John 4:19.
For more information, you can also contact Candace Ruden at 701-629-8962 or Jill Nohr at 701-629-1649.