A lot of people have asked questions about our gig at the “Big Day In” on Feb 8, which was broadcast on the Australian Christian Channel, via webcast, and direct to hundreds of Anglican Churches in Sydney.

1. What was that song you played?
The item we played was “Beneath the cross”, which is track two on our brand new album (I’m actually writing this as we mix the last track in Sydney’s Studios 301!!). Watch out for it in late March or early April.

It’s a new song based on the words to an old hymn by Elizabeth C. Clephane (1868)

Beneath the cross of Jesus I gladly take my stand
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land
O safe and happy shelter, O refuge tried and sweet
O resting place where heaven’s love and heaven’s justice meet

I wanna stay beneath the cross of Jesus, keep me there
I wanna stay beneath the cross of Jesus, keep me there

There lies beneath its shadow but on the further side
The darkness of an awful grave that gapes both deep and wide
And there between us stands the cross arms outstretched to save
A watchman set to guard the way from that eternal grave

I take the shadow of the cross as my abiding place
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face
Content to let the world go by, to know no gain or loss
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross
My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of one who suffered there for me
And from my stricken heart these two wonders I confess:
The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness

2. Why was there clapping after the songs?
As anyone who has sung with Garage Hymnal before will know, we’re not heaps into applause. Don’t get us wrong, we’re really grateful for the encouragement and thanks (which in our culture are communicated by clapping), but we feel a bit awkward normally about accepting applause; especially after leading you in worship through a congregational song.

It may sometimes be an appropriate response of gratitude to someone who has served you by playing an ITEM (it depends what you mean by the applause). People have different views on this. One songwriter friend of mine always asks people not to clap after items when he plays in church. But sometimes the sentiment the church body is trying to express is clearly just gratitude (not idolatry or ego-boosting). Musicians like all artists tend to be melancholic types, and so a little bit of encouragement might not be the worst thing in the world for their souls.

But as you may have noticed, there was a lot about the Big Day In that wasn’t quite like a normal church service. We couldn’t see most of the people we were serving, for a start. And there was no easy way to make the transitions between music and the next segment. So out of technical necessity the producers asked the congregation to do something they might not normally do, and clap after our items. We agreed, understanding that the congregation was not trying to inflate our egos or give glory to us instead of God.

On that note, our aversion to applause as church musicians isn’t so much about making sure the glory goes to God. As Christians the onus is on us to give all the glory to God whether we get applause or not, and whether we’re playing in church or at a pub on Saturday night. The real reason we find applause awkward is that it implies the congregation and the band are separate … performer and listener. We like to think that we were all involved in the music!!! So when the cameras were off and the crowd at Kellyville very kindly thanked us for leading them in one more song, we applauded them back!!!