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Grace United Methodist Church will host a "Blue Christmas" remembrance at 1 p.m. The service will take a break from traditional holiday ceremonies to help people feeling sad or lonely.
Merryl Dietz, an organizer and member of the church for 28 years, said the holidays can intensify feelings of depression.
"We're bombarded by red and green," Dietz told Daily Voice, "but what if you just lost a family member, a job, a friend? Inside a lot of people feel very empty because they can't feel that joy and they feel loneliness and depression."
The Dec. 5 service will allow guests to come together and help each other through difficult feelings. Scripture will be read with music and prayers. People can then light a candle for themselves or people they lost. Each person can go to the altar and receive individual prayers just for them.
The event will be run by the church's chapter of the Stephen Ministries. The ministry usually acts behind the scenes to help those in grief, Dietz said, but they wanted to spread the word about Blue Christmas.
All are invited to the service.
This is the first Blue Christmas service in what Dietz said she hopes becomes a Wyckoff tradition.
"It will be a special service to help people know that God is with them even in thier darkest hours," she said. "That's really what God is about, where the joy comes from. [Christmas] is not about the lights and the cookies and all the feasts. It's not even about family. It's about God with us and that's the message that we'll share."
MORE INFO: Email stephenministry@gumc.org.
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