Daisy Chain Brigade: Ministry raises awareness of mental illness, breast cancer and more

By Catherine Godbey | Living 50 Plus

Lucy McCain wakes up each morning and goes through each day with one goal — “Do something to glorify God.”

In her 40s and 50s, McCain achieved that goal by writing books. In her 50s and 60s, the Decatur woman sent uplifting handcrafted newsletters around the world and operated a radio program, which reached stations in Denver and New Orleans.

Now, at 76 years old, McCain leads an outreach ministry that creates and distributes daisy pins made of yarn. She calls it the Daisy Chain Brigade.

The organization formed on the heels of an interdenominational Bible study McCain attended in 2019.

“All the people there were asked to write a prayer. We then went to the seven oldest churches in Decatur and read our prayers. Every Friday, that is what we would do,” McCain said.

In her prayer, the first prayer she wrote, McCain asked for a revival to take place across the land.

“That’s how the Daisy Chain Brigade all started. After writing that prayer, I wanted to create something to remind everyone to pray for our city, state and country,” McCain said.

She chose the daisy.

“I am a visual person. For me, the daisy’s petals represent the raising of hands and the yellow center represents the Lord’s glory blessing us,” McCain said.

The first Daisy Chain Brigade meeting took place Dec. 6, 2019, at McCain’s Southwest Decatur home. McCain invited 100 women to the meeting and distributed 100 kits to create white daisies to each attendee.

“My goal was to create 10,000 white daisies by June 6, 2020, which was the anniversary of D-Day,” McCain said. “We made that goal, even though COVID shut everything down that March. People would make the daisies at home and leave them in our mailbox. Then they would come back to pick up packaged daisies so they could distribute them to whoever God laid on their heart.”

Since the community organization formed in 2019, the volunteer brigade has crafted more than 18,000 daisies in the colors of white — a reminder to pray for the city, state and country, pink for breast cancer awareness and a sparkly green to celebrate Christmas.

For 2025, McCain set a new goal and mission: make 10,000 green daisies to raise awareness of mental illness. Seeing the struggles of a person close to her caused McCain to focus on mental illness.

“Mental illness is not something we talk about openly, definitely not in the senior community,” McCain said. “I’m really excited about the green daisies and the conversations they might open up. The green daisy is to show you are praying for someone who has a mental illness and there are so many people struggling with mental illness now.”

On Jan. 6, McCain and volunteers with the Daisy Chain Brigade held their first meeting of the year at Turner-Surles Community Resource Center in Northwest Decatur. Around the room, two dozen women and men cut strands of yellow yarn, looped yarn into the shape of petals, attached pins to daisies and packaged them in plastic bags.

Phyllis Huie’s fingers worked quickly wrapping white yarn around a mini flower-shaped loom.

“I go to Bible study with Lucy and she invited me to the first meeting of the Daisy Chain Brigade,” Huie said. “I love doing this because it is a way to give back. I want to do something that will do good for someone else.”

The items Huie makes are among the 40 white daisies given to Decatur Morgan Hospital for distribution every week.

“Everything is a God thing. When we made the first 10,000, I contacted Noel Lovelace with the hospital and asked if they could use some. They took 200 and gave them out in one week. So, we started taking 40 to the hospital every week. We also bring fresh daisies for people who would like to take them to patients there. I would love to expand and work with other hospitals,” McCain said.

When Huie’s husband underwent surgery at Decatur Morgan Hospital in March she saw employees wearing the white daisies.

“That showed me that this ministry is actually reaching people,” Huie said.

Along with Huie, Elizabeth Griffin is an original member of the Daisy Chain Brigade. Born in London when the bombings started in World War II, Griffin grew up learning to knit.

“In my childhood, I had limited experiences. The first five years were spent running away from sirens and hiding in bomb shelters. We did anything and everything to keep us entertained. For many little girls in my age group, that included knitting,” Griffin said. “As I’m getting older, the Daisy Chain Brigade appeals to me because I love to knit, it is doable, it is a wonderful ministry and community based.”

A sign in the playroom of McCain’s home featuring a quote by Mother Teresa serves as a reminder to her great-grandchildren, her grandchildren and herself of her life’s mission — “Do small things with great love.”

“It doesn’t matter that I’m a senior. I need to do something for someone else,” McCain said. “I love that Grandma Moses began painting at the age of 78. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can make a difference in someone else’s life. You can always do something.”

The Daisy Chain Brigade meets the first Monday of every month from 9 to 11 a.m. at Turner-Surles, 702 Sycamore St. N.E.