Forty Faithful Years of Flowers

Forty Faithful Years of Flowers

At 89 years of age, Wootha (Maleny) resident Beryl Czechura has gracefully retired from flower arranging at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Witta.

Moving to a dairy farm at Wootha in 1961, Beryl, husband Ted and their family, attended Witta’s Lutheran Church where the flowers were arranged by the Harch sisters, Lydia and Ruby. More than 20 years later, Beryl started arranging flowers for the occasional worship service. On the deaths of the Harch sisters in the 1980s, Beryl took over the role herself. A role she held for over forty years until only recently.

“My first flower arrangements were for Sunday worship but I was soon creating floral art for baptisms, weddings and funerals. Working in our garden and arranging flowers has always been a joy for me,” Beryl said.

To ensure that Beryl had suitable flowers for her beautiful arrangements, she and Ted transformed the garden around their home. Flowers were grown, not only for her arrangements, but to follow the colours of the church year such as purple flowers for Lent or red flowers for Pentecost.

“At Witta, the first thing I often notice are Beryl’s flowers; they tell the story of the season – the Gospel in full colour!” said Pastor Matt Thiele. His predecessor agreed. Pastor Maurie Richter said that it was wonderful to see flowers from Beryl’s garden enriching the church, adding that we as pastors also had the benefit of sniffing the scents up close!

In early August, Beryl received a special thank you from her congregation. Not with chocolates and a bunch of flowers, but with a book by her favourite author, Ole Hallesby, a Norwegian Lutheran theologian, and a $500 donation made in her name to enable young girls in countries such as Myanmar and South Sudan to attend school regularly. To God be the Glory!