The holidays are a joyous time for family and friends, but they can be lonely and hard to get through for people going through a difficult situation.

The Grace Lutheran Church Life and Growth group is putting on their annual remembrance service Saturday to help anyone dealing with a tough time around the holidays.

“We’ve done that for several years just because, you know, people who have lost a loved one in the past year, the holidays are always very hard, especially the first Thanksgiving, the first Christmas, and we just wanted to do something for those people,” group member Jeanette Dennison said.

It’s not only for people who have lost a loved one, though. Those who have lost a job or are going through a divorce, or who are experiencing anything that makes the holidays a tough time, are welcome.

“It’s open to everyone,” Dennison said. “Just to give a spiritual lift to those who need it.”

The group has held the event for about 10 years, and Dennison said the community response has been decent over the past years.

“Some years we’ve had a lot of people, and then like last year we only had three families that came, so it varies,” she said.

The service is free and refreshments will be served. It is open to anyone in the community, not only church members. The service will be at 2 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 2001 Sixth Ave. SE, in the church parlor. People are asked to RSVP by Friday at 4 p.m., and can call the church at 507-433-3445.