Vancouver church offers a place to be blue on Christmas

The winter holidays can be a stressful time for anyone, but if you're mourning a loved one or are struggling with other losses, Christmas is particularly tough.

That's why Vancouver's Canadian Memorial United Church opened up its doors on Wednesday night for its annual Blue Christmas event, welcoming anyone who's having a hard time.

Naomi Lippett lost her mother to Parkinson's disease just one month ago, and said she felt a need to attend the service to allow herself to process everything that's happened.

"I think the holidays can be a place of real distraction. We can fill our lives with so many things and stuff and not actually create room to maybe just be," she told CBC News.

Rev. Beth Hayward said the idea for the gathering came out of many years of community outreach.

"It became apparent that this time of year for people is particularly challenging, either if you've had a recent death in your family, or for a lot of people it brings up past losses," she said.

"Some people, it's being away from home and not able to get to where your loved ones are."

The response to the event has grown over the years, and Hayward says people shouldn't feel scared about attending a gathering in a Christian church.

"Our plan is to throw open the doors to anyone and everyone. We don't use this as a chance to try to evangelize," she said.

Her church isn't alone in offering this event, and there are still a few Blue Christmas gatherings throughout the city in the next few days, including ones at Oakridge Adventist Church and St. Faith's Anglican Church on Thursday.

With files from Meera Bains