Westminster College to celebrate the holiday season

Photo courtesy of Westminster College: 
Some of the items that can be viewed at the "Holiday in the Trenches" exhibit at America's National Churchill Museum. The exhibit will officially open on Dec. 3, 2022, with a Members Preview taking place at the High Road to the Holidays event on Dec. 2.
Photo courtesy of Westminster College: Some of the items that can be viewed at the "Holiday in the Trenches" exhibit at America's National Churchill Museum. The exhibit will officially open on Dec. 3, 2022, with a Members Preview taking place at the High Road to the Holidays event on Dec. 2.


Fulton's Westminster College and America's National Churchill Museum have a weekend full of events to celebrate the holiday season.

On Friday, Dec. 2, the High Roads to the Holidays event will take place at America's National Churchill Museum.

A variety of festive activities will take place. There will be a Christmas-themed Gallery Talk by Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of the Museum, titled "1940: Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt at the White House."

Carols and cookies in St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury will be offered. This will be the first opportunity to see the church decorated for Christmastide. Churchillian Hors d'oeuvres, libations, children's activities and a silent auction of locally made desserts by the Mid-Mo Friends Board will also take place.

The activities will begin at 6 p.m. and last until 8 p.m. Admission is $20 per person. Museum members, children 11 and under, and Westminster College students and employees will have free admission.

Tickets can be purchased online at the Museum's website, at the Museum or at the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society.

High Roads to the Holidays will be the first chance to see the new "Holiday in the Trenches" exhibit. "Holiday in the Trenches" is an exhibit that was created, curated and displayed by Westminster students, according to a release.

The exhibit officially opens on Saturday, Dec. 3, but a Members Preview will be offered as part of the High Roads to the Holidays. "Holiday in the Trenches" will continue until Jan. 6. Another exhibition, "Winston Churchill: Passion for Painting," will be on display until Dec. 31.

This new exhibit is an immersive display that highlights the experience of Allied soldiers during World War II. "Holiday in the Trenches" was created by students in Westminster's new Museum Studies program, which launched this fall.

Students in the program studied a variety of items and then placed them on display. Letters that reveal what soldiers did for the holidays will be on display at the exhibit.

The students who created the exhibit will be available to meet at the High Roads to the Holidays event.

"The exhibition will show how soldiers, in most challenging circumstances, wished, above all, for peace on earth and goodwill toward all, which is something we still wish for today," Timothy Riley, the Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator of the Museum, said in a release.

The weekend activities will conclude on Sunday, Dec. 4, with the 39th Annual Festival of Lessons and Carols. This event will take place at 5 p.m. at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury.

Lessons and Carols is modeled after the original Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols which took place at King's College, University of Cambridge, England. At the service, nine biblical scriptures that relate to the Christmas story will be read. After each reading will be a carol sung by Westminster's choral ensemble, the Churchill Singers and guest performers.

Lessons and Carols is free and open to the public. It will also be livestreamed on the Museum's website and YouTube page.