In a recent edition of Farming Life, a paper that has been providing agri news and comment for Northern Ireland’s farmers for over 60 years, one particular fortnightly column reached a landmark milestone – the 200th edition of ‘Good News for the Countryside’.
The column is produced by a stable of writers who have a heart for the countryside, or who come from a farming or agricultural background. They also have something else in common, as they are all Irish Presbyterians – ministers, elders and members – who offer their personal reflections on faith and rural life. Guest columnists have also included three of the all-Ireland denomination’s Moderators.
An initiative of PCI’s Council for Mission in Ireland, the column made its inaugural appearance on the first Saturday of 2017. Since then – and some 120,000 or so words later – the column hasn’t missed a deadline in a period that has seen a global pandemic, Brexit, the coming and going of nine UK and Irish prime ministers, the war in Ukraine, and an outbreak of avian influenza.
Council Secretary, Rick Hill, who also acts as one of the executive editors of the column, thanked those who have made it possible. “As a writer, I know the time, effort, thought, creativity and prayer that goes into an enterprise like this. Celebrating and giving thanks for this milestone, the 200th edition, is a considerable achievement.
“The driving force behind the column has been Rev Kenny Hanna, and it certainly wouldn’t have been possible without the blessing of Ruth Rodgers, Farming Life’s editor, who I want to thank for running with the initial proposal. But it has been the columnists and their regular contributions that have kept ‘Good News for the Countryside’ going, bringing stories of farming life, interwoven with the message of Christ and His gospel to readers every fortnight, something which I think is exceptionally rare, if not unique, in today’s media,” he said.
Rev Kenny Hanna, whose family still farm in the foothills of the Mountains of Mourne, was minister of Second Dromara Presbyterian Church when he wrote the first column. Since then, he has been appointed PCI’s first Rural Chaplain, and has written today’s instalment. In it he also thanks the columnists, PCI’s editors and Farming Life’s editor for their faithfulness, but “most of all, however, I want to give God all the glory, for anything that has been accomplished,” he said.
“Such milestones are achieved with the help of a caring and committed team. A regular column requires regular writers, and year-by-year, God has blessed us with a team of faithful and creative contributors, many of whom began the journey with us in January 2017,” he wrote.
Speaking directly to Farming Life’s readers, he said, “…no matter who writes or edits, if no one reads what is written, then it is a huge waste of time and effort. That makes you, and all our readers, a vital part of our column…”
Offering her congratulations on the milestone, Farming Life editor, Ruth Rodgers, said, “In bringing our readers news and features from across the farming and agri-sectors twice a week, we appreciate that for many years farmers and farming families have lived and worked through challenging times. We all need hope, and it is my hope that those who read the column, will find just that.”