wonder!” I think that’s refreshing. Do you see
the importance of wonder as foundational for
worship leaders?
[Matt] Yes, for sure! And I like the examples
you give in your question – because wonder of
course is never just contained to the sanctuary.
The opportunity to wonder is all around us
– we literally can’t escape it – it’s in the very
breath we breathe, the miraculous way we
were formed and given life, the starry night
sky above. It’s almost pointless starting a list
because the opportunity to wonder is flying at
us from so many different angles, every single
day of our lives. And we haven’t even gotten
to the cross yet, ha! So, I guess the call for the
worship leader is, “How do I live with a sense
of wonder?” and then, “How can I lead other
people into wonder?”. That’s a lovely way to
look at our congregational worship – that our
aim is to lead people from the ordinary into
the extraordinary, from the mundane into the
majestic – schedules of our everyday lives into
a sacred place of awe and wonder.
[WM] Another theme contained within your
new project is mercy. You have back-to-back
songs, “Merciful Father”, and “Mercies (New
Every Morning)”, which is a very clever twist on
a portion of an old and beloved hymn. Mercy
is an attribute I think we grow to appreciate
as we age, both from the Father and toward
each other as human beings. What can you
tell us about your growth in the understanding
of mercy?
[Matt] I’m not sure if I have a deeper
understanding – it’s just a theme that’s
impossible to avoid when it comes to worship.
One old hymnwriter said, “New mercies shall
new songs demand” and that is so very true.
So those songs you mention are just my little
attempts to come around this theme again,
in hopefully a fresh and helpful way. ‘Merciful
Father’ starts as a piano motif written by a
friend of mine Tim Wanstall in London. That
propelled Pat Barrett and I into the rest of the
song – I’d had the title sitting there for a while – I
think I first noticed it in an old Catholic liturgical
photo by Jordan Rubino
February 2020
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