The Cornerstone music team, from left to right: Kathleen Wolfe (vocals), Eric Filion, Conor George (guitar, vocals), Reid Sonntag (guitar, vocals), Jeremiah Webster (sound), Anthony Churko (bass), Valerie Christie (keys), Michael Hudec (electric guitar), and Kevin Darwent (drums)



Cornerstone #1: A Call to Praise God in Joy and Freedom
by Robin Anderson
June 22, 2009

“Come, let us sing to the Lord
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving
and sing joyful songs to the Lord!”—Psalm 95, the Invitatory psalm from the
Liturgy of the Hours

Joy. Freedom. These were my impressions of the Cornerstone music team when chatting with them this past week. Their humor, mutual affirmation, and deep commitment to Christ were evident to the utmost. The music team is led by Conor George, from Saint John, New Brunswick (“Get it right,” he insists with a smile, “It’s not St. John’s, Newfoundland, you spell out the word ‘saint,’ and you don’t put an apostrophe ‘s,’ and it’s New Brunswick, not Newfoundland, all right?”). The other members include Kathleen Wolfe (Saskatoon, SK), Kevin Darwent (Ottawa, ON), Michael Hudec (Calgary, AB), Valerie Christie (Petrolia, ON), Jeremiah Webster (Dartmouth, NS), Reid Sonntag (Good Soil, SK), and Anthony Churko (Coquitlam, BC). The team was composed by CCO staff member Eric Filion, who has high praise of it: “I’m really proud of the worship team. I expected a lot of this team, and I let them know that. We really set the bar high and they’ve risen to the challenge.” While listening to the music team speak, I found that I agreed with Eric.

Although each member was chosen for their talents and so that they might grow in those talents, the point is that their hearts are in the right place. Says Conor, “I’d heard a lot about the Cornerstone event on Impact, that it was the pivotal event that happens on mission. So I felt very honored, humbled, and affirmed in my worship leading abilities. There was also a certain overwhelming feeling, feeling like I didn’t have enough experience. And then at the same time, there was excitement.” Valerie says that she also felt inadequate at first: “I felt that I didn’t have enough experience, but this was the way to get it.” However, they realize that the Holy Spirit has been multiplying their work for them.

Being a music and worship leader has helped the team enter more deeply into prayer. As Michael says, “When I look into the crowd, I feel the joy that’s there. You can feel it so powerfully, the Holy Spirit is right there among us, you can see it in people’s faces.” Anthony Churko adds to this by describing the leader’s position, as an “echo” effect. “We’re seeing that the message that we’re sending out through worship reflected right back at us, only ten or a hundred times bigger. When I see people worshipping, I in turn enter more deeply into worship, and it becomes an echo thing.” In the end, says Conor, the gathered group is worshipping as a whole: “We’re worshipping as a Body of Christ, we’re worshipping together.”

A danger in leading music, says Kevin, can be “thinking about the music recording instead of thinking of the prayer. Instead of making it a prayer, you’re thinking too much of the music itself. We have to reorient that, and make sure that it’s a prayer the whole time.” Kathleen adds to this: “Definitely our main job is to lead people to prayer, to lead them to Christ. Music brings people to a place where they can be more open to what God is doing in their lives.”

This team, however, has gladly entered the heart of worship, and their surrender to God is making an Impact on the city of Saskatoon. Over two hundred people were found at last week’s Cornerstone; the event has been steadily growing as the weeks progress. For Conor, “It has been great seeing people who one week aren’t looking like they’re not really into it, and then the weeks pass, and you see that they’re getting more and more into it. You can tell that over the weeks, God has been doing something.” Added to this, says Eric, the team has grown in their own knowledge of worship and what it means to lead the Cornerstones of Saskatoon into the heart of God: “I want to honor them for the way I’ve seen their hearts of worship come out. That’s really reflected in the way the people coming out to the Cornerstone have been able to respond.”

Amen, brother!