Winchester --Local vocalist Jordan Markwood will be featured at the traditional Lessons and Carols Candlelight Service, scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday at the Old Bethel Church in Clarke County.

     "This is the real thing," said organizer Ian Williams, president of the Board of Trustees for the church one of the oldest religious structures west of the Blue Ridge and once a Quaker meeting house.

     If visitors could journey back in time 150 years, Williams said, they would see the same type of Christmas service in the church: no heat and no electricity.

     Local lectors will read the Christmas story from the Bible, he said. They include Ilona Benham, Peter Cook, Tom Gilpin, and Mary Maguire.

     The Sixth Dimension Handbell Ensemble will also perform.

     Markwood, 25, is a native of Winchester, said Carly Bauserman, Williams administrative assistant, who contacted him about performing. "He grew up singing with the First United Methodist Church."

     He is the choir director at the Stone Hill Middle School in Loudoun County and Worship Arts coordinator at Round Hill United Methodist Church.

     Markwood also sings with the Arts Academy Chorale of Shenandoah University, where he leads the tenor section.

More information

     The public is invited to attend the service in the church on Old Bethel Lane, off Swift Shoals Road south of U.S. 50 in Clarke County. For more information, contact Ian Williams at 540-667-1266.