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 21 years, they have organized an event called A Time for Angels to help soothe the pain of people who have experienced a recent loss.

A Time for Angels is traditionally held at St Olaf Lutheran Church, but it is a non-denominational event at which the Gunderson funeral directors team up with local clergy to provide comfort. This year’s event was held Sunday with Monsignor Kevin McCoy, of Holy Trinity Parish, and the Rev. Dan Kahl, of Grace Lutheran Church, offering messages of faith, hope and love in the face of grief.

”Simply defined, angels are messengers and guardians of God’s presence,” said Phil Gunderson, owner of the funeral home. ”Angels are messengers of comfort, of joy, of courage and hope.”

Those who attend the service receive an angel ornament.

Hundreds of people have attended the event and benefitted from it over the past 21 years.

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. Credit is also due to St. Olaf Lutheran Church and the clergy members who make this event possible.