The death of a loved one is the emotional equivalent of getting hit by a train. There’s almost nothing that can create the bewildering range of emotions that the death of a loved one can generate.

The range of emotions can include anger, fear, sadness, loneliness and other feelings that defy ordinary description. And those emotions can hit hardest during the holiday season.

The staff of Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services is well aware of that. So for 26 years, they have organized an event called A Time for Angels to help soothe the pain of people who have experienced a recent loss.

This year’s version will begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in St. Olaf Lutheran Church, 239 N. 11th St.

The service will feature messages from the Rev. Emily Sauer-Alvarez, pastor of St. Olaf Lutheran Church, and Monsignor Kevin McCoy, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. There will be music and the names of people who died during the past year will be read.

We thank Gunderson Funeral Home and Cremation Services for going above and beyond what a funeral home would generally be expected to do to serve those who mourn. The Rev. Emily Sauer-Alvarez and Monsignor Kevin McCoy also deserve credit for their key roles in this ceremony.