We are Luke Wareham and Rachel Mason, worship leaders and songwriters based in the South West of the UK, we regularly lead worship at Clevedon Baptist Church, North Somerset and at events around the UK. Our debut single “Whisper” made it to number 11 in the UK Christian and Gospel Music charts, and we’ve just released our brand new EP of the same name.
Our heart behind this EP is to help people to encounter Jesus and to reveal the nature of Jesus through drawing people to Jesus in the church and outside the church. We love leading worship in the local church and at events around the UK.
John Ortberg says “I need to worship because without it I lose a sense of wonder and gratitude and plod through life with blinders on“, and this sums up our passion for helping people with encountering Jesus.
Our prayer is that these songs will bring love, truth and hope to a broken world and speak directly into people’s daily live situations. Many of the songs were written out of times of corporate and personal worship and are putting into words the overflow of our heart and love for Jesus.
“Shadows“, the opening song on our new EP, is a song that was written during difficult times in 2019. We wanted to begin the EP with a blend of music, opening up the first verse with some keys, strong electric guitars and drums before the vocals kick in.
Luke’s vocal opens up the first verse and chorus alone leaving time for another section of the guitar and then the second verse brings in Rachel’s vocal supporting and blending through the second verse and chorus. When we get to the bridge Rachel forcefully declares “I won’t give up, I won’t let go“, the song expresses how going through trials in life can be a test of our faith.
We may feel weak but the hope of the cross makes us strong. The cross takes away all fear and dread as the light of Jesus shines through the darkness in our lives. Jesus’s love and glory shine brighter than anything else as the shadows in our life disappear.
“Shadows” is a song proclaiming the victory of Jesus and that we can hold on to Jesus who never gives up on us. We love singing this song and it has gone down particularly well, we have heard many stories of churches singing this song around the UK on their live streams, as a song of hope at this unprecedented time.
“Faithful Friend” is a song Luke wrote during a 24/7 prayer week at his church where Pete Greig came to speak. Luke wanted to bear his soul as he sings about the abiding love of Jesus. The song reflects on how we are made for a close friendship with God as we live in unity together for God’s kingdom.
He felt God say that he does not just want us to know about him; he wants us to experience his friendship. God knows us better than we know ourselves, and he loves us more deeply than anyone else ever could. He is faithful, he is close and he will never leave us. As we surrender to Jesus we get to know him better.
“Whisper” is the title song of the new EP, we released it as a single in January and it came 11th in the UK Christian and Gospel Music charts. The song was written at a time when we were finding it hard to hear God over the chaos of life. Even when we are filled with panic, anxiety, doubt and despair a whisper from God can change everything.
We believe that true freedom comes from the hope of Jesus on the cross. God whispers to Elijah in 1 Kings – God wasn’t in the noise of the wind, in the rocks breaking, in the earthquake or fire – but he was in the silence as he whispered to Elijah. God revealed himself in a whisper to Elijah as he was so close and he whispers in our situations because he is so close and never leaves us.
“Hearing Heart” is more of a reflective song. It is a simple few lines just making that request as a prayer, that God might speak as we put ourselves into the position to listen.
We wanted to make a upbeat, anthemic song to finish the EP and “Mirror Your Glory (Barnabas)” fits this. This song combines our heart’s cry and response along with the security of the knowledge of God’s constant presence with us and our outward response which is to love through our actions.
Our thinking behind this song is a song of justice where we want to declare that we should comfort the lonely and encourage the lost. We love Barnabas in the Bible and his heart of encouragement, comfort and generosity. That is what this world needs and as we mirror God we become more like this.
Looking ahead and with the release of our Whisper EP, we are already making plans and started writing songs for a second EP! We would love to share the songs wider and are looking at doing a tour post lockdown, so do get in touch if you would like to host us! We will be leading worship in the local church and at various events and conferences during 2020.
Listen to the Whisper EP below!
Words by Luke Wareham and Rachel Mason // Follow them on Facebook + Instagram
