5th Annual Civil War Christmas
at St. John's Episcopal Church

Oakdale, NY

December 10, 2022

For the fifth year, we were invited by the Oakdale Historical Society to their Civil War Christmas at St. John's Church in Oakdale, Long Island. Thankfully, we had dry if cold weather. We made good use of our greatcoats this year. The day kicked off with the OBMS String Ensemble, followed by the Hanging of the Greens, the Victorian Carolers by the BAFA (Bay Area Friends of Fine Arts), then the ‘Lighting of the Tree’, and the Victorian dessert contest. During the Soldier’s Talk, we took Q&A from the church audience thanks to questions written on slips of paper and deposited in a jar during the day. The last musical number was the OBMS Show Choir. Of course, the Grand Finale was George Munkenbeck's Civil War Christmas service. Afterwards, we all bid our goodbyes for the year and sequestered into Winter Camp until the opening of the new season in January.