Christmas of Hope helps with the loss of loved ones

Melissa Strle
Times Reporter

 

Francis Van Bussel, owner of Wheatland Funeral Home, will be holding a Christmas of Hope gathering on Dec. 4 at the Hope Covenant Church.
The event’s aim is to help people recognize the recent loss of loved ones, and to ease the pain and uneasiness of those who may be having a tough time experiencing the loss of a loved one.
“It’s a coming together of all these people who are in the same boat, who are feeling the same loss,” said Van Bussel. “A lot of times it’s easier for people to deal with things when they realize that there are other people out there dealing with the same thing.”
The service is designed to bring some comfort to those who have experienced a loss.
Pastor Glenn Peterson from the Hope Covenant Church will be speaking to family and friends regarding the loss of their loved ones.
Van Bussel said the joy and excitement of the Christmas holidays brings memories of all that was; however, it also serves as a fresh reminder for those suffering from the loss of a loved one.
The service will help people “deal with their first Christmas without that person present,” said Van Bussel. “What we’re trying to do is sort of give them a little different perspective of the Christmas holidays, and by people coming together who are facing the same things, it for what-ever reason, a lot of times makes it easier for people.”
Van Bussel said sometimes people can feel as though they are all alone and that nobody “really understands or can feel what you’re feeling.”
He cautioned that it does not become any easier, but it becomes “better to understand that what you’re going through is not just what you’re going through, it’s what other people are also going through.”
Van Bussel said in the past, there have been similar services offered in Strathmore; but at the present time, no such services exist that he’s aware of.
“There’s really nothing in the community so we thought it would be a good time to bring this (service) to fruition and get it going,” he noted.
Van Bussel will be contacting people his funeral home has dealt with over the last year to let them know about this service being offered.
“It’s not just for families that we have served,” said Van Bussel. He said the service will be of-fered to anyone in the area whose Christmas will be shadowed with the sorrow of a loved one’s absence.
The funeral home owner hopes to provide music at the service with a soloist. The service will be followed by a small luncheon with food and refreshments.
A keepsake will be given to all families. For more information or to register to attend, call Wheat-land Funeral Home by Nov. 25 at 403-934-4404 or e-mail (info@wheatlandfuneralhome.ca).