One of my most powerful Cornerstone memories was seeing Pedro the Lion perform at the 1998 festival. Although I was vaguely familiar with David Bazan’s music thanks to 1997’s Whole EP, I was completely unprepared for the emotional wallop that was It’s Hard to Find a Friend. The entire set had us all in tears from nearly the get-go, but it was “Secret of the Easy Yoke” that truly undid me.

When Bazan sang, in that humble manner of his, “Could someone please tell me the story/Of sinners ransomed from the fall/I still have never seen you/And some days I don’t love you at all,” I wept. Bazan’s words perfectly captured the spiritual and existential turmoil that I often felt as someone who grew up in the Church but nevertheless struggled with doubts about the whole enterprise. “Secret of the Easy Yoke” became a personal anthem in the following months, a comforting reminder that I was not alone in my doubts and struggles.

I’ve rarely felt more seen and acknowledged than when I heard Bazan sing “If this is only a test/I hope that I’m passing/‘Cause I’m losing steam/And I still want to trust you.”