Recognizing the losses and difficulty of the past year, a local Comox Valley church is hosting a virtual space for those to honour loved ones and to share in grief.
Alastair Hunting, a pastor at St. John the Divine Anglican Church in Courtenay is hosting a Virtual Blue Christmas event on Dec. 21, and is inviting anyone who wants to share, light a candle or acknowledge the grief and pain of this time of the year for themselves and for others.
“We know this year has been hard in general … we want to offer support and it’s important in a small way to acknowledge this and that it is a tough time, and that’s okay.”
Hunting said anyone can attend the service and hopes it can provide comfort and give a voice to those who are struggling.
Candles can be lit to remember those who were lost, to redeem the pain of loss (relationships, jobs or health), to remember oneself during Christmas (the disbelief, anger, down times, joy and sorrow of memories) and to remember the gift of hope and faith that the Christmas story offers.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, all in-person services have been postponed until at least Jan. 10, 2021. The service is available to watch online at sjtdcourtenay.ca/live.
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