Millwood --"The acoustics are lovely," said Diana Kincannon, "because of all those hard surfaces."

     Kincannon will be the featured soloist on Sunday for the traditional Lessons and Carols Candlelight Service at Old Bethel Church in southeastern Clarke County.

     "I hope everyone will come who wants to enjoy Christmas as it was one hundred, or 150 years ago," said organizer Ian Williams, a member of the board of trustees for Old Bethel.

     The church building, which served a Quaker congregation in the mid-1800s, and a Baptist one until 1920, is one of the earliest religious sites west of the Blue Ridge mountains.

     This National Historic Landmark is open twice-a-year for a talk and picnic each August and the December Christmas celebration.

     The Rev. Anne Manson of Christ Episcopal Church, Millwood, will lead the service, composed of Christmas story lessons. Everyone is invited to sing traditional carols and the Sixth Dimension Handbell Ensemble will perform.

     Kincannon, the featured soloist for the service three years ago, said she was happy to return.

     She has a master's degree in music education. She studied at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and East Carolina University.

     The classically-trained soprano, who taught voice for many years, has performed with the Washington Opera Chorus, the Prince George's Opera Company and the Northern Virginia Opera Company.

     At her last Old Bethel performance, Kincannon sang an old African-American Christmas song, while standing in the church balcony, "where the slaves were seated," when the church was in use before the Civil War.

     "It was a special feeling," Kincannon said. "I like the idea of the sound wafting from up there."

     Williams warned everyone to dress appropriately for the weather, because as part of its Civil War ambiance, the church has no electricity and no heat.

     Participants receive candles and the rest of the building is lit with oil lamps.

     The holiday decorations are all natural greenery.

     The service begins at 5 p.m. and lasts about 25 minutes, Williams said, adding, "Dress warmly."

     Old Bethel is on Bethel Lane, off Swift Shoals Road, south of U.S.50.