Mental health and race relations are issues people generally avoid talking about. The topics can be uncomfortable and misunderstood. But two groups are each tackling one of the subjects in public forums this week.

Mental health will be discussed because of the holiday season.

Bright lights, festive candles, music and food with family and friends are part of end-of-year celebrations that include Christmas, Kwanzaa and the eight days of Hanukkah that ended Monday.

But for someone who is depressed and lonely, these jolly trappings only pull down moods and add to crippling misery. While we may not want to think about it, mental health professionals say countless individuals are trapped in this annual gloomy state while their peers are filled with cheer.

To help those struggling with seasonal emotions, the mental health task force at St. Luke Community United Methodist Church is offering a free support group where people can talk about the holiday depression. Group officials say the discussions will be nonjudgmental, confidential and respectful.

The support gathering will be from 9:45 to 10:50 a.m. Saturday in the Children and Youth Center at St. Luke, 5710 East R.L. Thornton Frwy. Dr. Paula Dobbs-Wiggins will host the meeting. Afterward, the agenda will shift to an educational session on mental health from 11 to 11:50 a.m. Dr. Brandy Gallien, a psychiatrist at Medical City Hospital, will discuss borderline personality disorder and psychosis.

Anyone attending is asked to bring a holiday ornament to help set the mood and help inspire the discussion. To learn more, email pdmickens@sbcglobal.net or call 972-571-6761.

On Wednesday, a separate gathering will tackle the often-tense discussion of race relations. "Together We Lunch" is billed as "a dining event to encourage courageous and safe conversations about race and diversity." It will be held noon to 1:30 p.m. at Belo Mansion, 2101 Ross Ave. A racially diverse panel will lead the discussion.

Co-sponsors are the Dallas Bar Association and Project Unity from St. Paul United Methodist Church. The event is free, but registration is required and seating is limited. Arrive at 11:30 a.m. for check-in. A waiting line is available online if seating is filled. Visit www.eventbrite.com and search for Project Unity.

About town

Dallas-area school choirs and bands and a guest college choir will present a Christmas Kwanzaa Concert as part of the 25th annual Promising Young Artists Series this weekend at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters at Canton and Akard streets downtown. Among choirs are those from Roosevelt, South Oak Cliff, Kimball and Lincoln high schools and Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School. The Charles Rice Elementary School Honors Choir, Townview band and Navarro College choir also will be featured.

A student performance will be at 10 a.m. Friday. Student admission is $5. A general public performance will be at 8 p.m. Saturday. Public admission is $10 plus applicable fees. There is a fee to park. To inquire about advance tickets, call 214-743-2400.

THE FREE CHRISTMAS MUSICAL The Scandal That Saved Us will be performed at 2 p.m. Saturday and at 8 and 11 a.m. Sunday at Mt. Hebron Missionary Baptist Church, 1233 State Highway 66 in Garland. Mt. Hebron's pastor, the Rev. Leonard Leach, wrote the text and score for the drama, which portrays the virgin birth as a scandal as viewed by humans but as a redeeming miracle from the spiritual perspective. To learn more, visit www.onthemount.org or call 972-276-5218.