Merle and Elva Jean Stone of Cedar Rapids and David and Susan Whitebread of North Liberty wanted to ring in 2024 by doing something special … so they decided to participate in one of America’s time-honored New Year’s traditions. No, they were not making a toast in Times Square while the glass ball descended just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Instead, they were in California celebrating the start of the New Year by “pushing petals” in preparation for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
Both couples volunteered this year with the Petal Pushers, an elite corps of volunteers who travel from all over the country to gather in Pasadena, Calif., each year. These volunteers spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s attaching thousands of roses, carnations, lilies, mums, and other flowers, as well as natural materials such as seeds, coffee beans and leaves, to create the majestic beauty and splendor of the floral floats that rode down Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard during the Rose Parade on January 1.
“This is our first time helping decorate parade floats,” says Merle. “Our son Jeff sent us tickets to attend the parade in 2022. That experience started the process of moving us from spectators to participants.”
“This is our fifth time volunteering,” says Susan. “Beginning about a decade ago, we have been coming out to Pasadena every other year to participate.”
Many of these Petal Pushers came to decorate the Lutheran Hour Ministries float—a Tournament of Roses perennial for more than 70 years and the only Christian-themed float in the parade. This year’s float, under the theme “Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord,” featured three heralding trumpets proceeding from a hymn book. Hanging from the trumpets were banners featuring the mantra of the Lutheran Reformation, which is God’s plan of salvation: Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone.
A large number of the 4,000-member-plus Petal Pusher organization’s volunteers helped on as many as seven other Rose Parade floats (such as The Cowboy Channel, CORE Kidney, City of Hope, Enjoy Illinois, and the College Football on ESPN opening float) as well—turning the week into one of the largest servant events in the country. It was an opportunity to make new friends, network, and share expressions of the faith that gives true meaning to this experience.
“We spent most of our time cutting statice for the ‘Enjoy Illinois’ float,” says Elva Jean. “It is wonderful meeting all of the incredibly dedicated volunteers from across the country and seeing how much detail is involved in building and decorating just one float, let alone the dozens of floats in the entire parade.”
“It is an incredible experience being a part of something that is enjoyed by so many people around the world,” says Susan. “We love telling our friends and family about how much time and effort it takes to create the beautiful floats that they see on television during the parade each year.”
The 2024 Rose Parade presented by Honda, under the theme of “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language,” was held on Monday, January 1, 2024. The iconic annual parade is watched live each year by millions of people around the world on a variety of television stations and streaming and social media platforms.
Lutheran Hour Ministries is a trusted resource in global media that equips and engages a vibrant volunteer base to passionately proclaim the Gospel to people around the world more than 195 million times each week. Through its North American headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, and ministry centers and partners on six continents, LHM reaches into more than 60 countries, often bringing Christ to places where no other Christian evangelistic organizations are present. For more information about Lutheran Hour Ministries, visit www.lhm.org. For information on the Petal Pushers and its volunteer opportunities, visit www.petalpushers.org.