VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds you in good heart, perhaps with the last of the morning mist burning off the fields and a pot of something strong brewing in the kitchen. There is a particular blessing to a late spring Sunday, isn’t there? The hedgerows are frothing with cow parsley, the swallows have returned to the barn, and the … Continue reading A Prayer for Noticing
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds you in a reflective mood, perhaps with the rain pattering gently against the windowpane and the scent of damp earth rising from the garden. There is a particular honesty to a rainy Sunday, isn’t there? It asks nothing of us but to be still. No urgent work in the fields, no pressing repairs on … Continue reading A Prayer for Rainy Sundays
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds you well, perhaps with the last of the Easter chocolate still hidden away in the pantry and the spring sunshine warming the windowsills. There is a particular gentleness to the Sunday after Easter, isn’t there? The grand celebrations have faded, the family have returned to their homes, and the world settles back into its … Continue reading Sunday Prayer
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Easter Sunday finds you in reflective spirits, perhaps with the first light of dawn breaking over the fields and the promise of spring stirring in the hedgerows. There is something profoundly hopeful about an Easter morning, isn’t there? The daffodils are nodding their golden heads, the lambs are testing unsteady legs in the meadows, and the … Continue reading A Prayer for Easter Sunday
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds you in good spirits, perhaps with the last of the morning mist still clinging to the valley and the kettle just coming to the boil. There is a particular hush to a Sunday morning, isn’t there? A sense that the world has paused for a moment, allowing us to draw breath before the gentle … Continue reading A Prayer for Home
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds you well, perhaps with a fresh pot of tea at your elbow and the week’s newsprint scattered about you. As I look out from my window, the countryside is putting on its finest show. There is a particular quality to the light on a Sunday morning, isn’t there? It’s a light that seems to … Continue reading A Prayer for Peace
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds you well, perhaps with a fresh pot of tea at your elbow and the week’s newsprint scattered about you. As I look out from my window, the countryside is putting on its finest show. There is a particular quality to the light on a Sunday morning, isn’t there? It’s a light that seems … Continue reading A Prayer for the Week Ahead
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this letter finds you with muddy boots in the hallway and the hopeful sound of birdsong greeting your every dawn. Spring is upon us in earnest now. The hesitant promise of March has burst forth into the full-throated declaration of April and May. The land is donning its garment of green, and every hedgerow is a … Continue reading A Prayer for the Greening
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this letter finds you watching the days lengthen and the first faint stirrings of life return to the hedgerows. March is a month of contradictions. It arrives with the promise of spring, yet it often bites with the teeth of winter. It is a time of hope, but also of impatience. The land is waking, but … Continue reading A Prayer for the Turning
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds you well, perhaps with the satisfying ache of a day’s honest work in your limbs. As I walk the footpaths this week, my eye is drawn to the boundaries that shape our landscape—those ancient ribbons of stone that trace the contours of our hills and mark the edges of our fields. There is something … Continue reading A Prayer for the Wallers
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this Sunday finds You well, perhaps with a spring in Your step despite the lingering chill. As I look out across the parish, there are signs—just faint ones, mind—that the great British countryside is stirring from its slumber. The birds are becoming more vocal in the hedgerows, and one can almost sense the promise of new life … Continue reading A Prayer for True Love on St Valentine’s Day
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust this message finds you in good health and heart as we continue through the turning of the year. In an age that so often seems untethered, where the permanent things are neglected and the soul is left to wander, let us pray especially for Roots and Constancy: Almighty and Everlasting God, who hast set the solitary in … Continue reading A Prayer for Roots and Constancy
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, as we gather our thoughts this Sunday, with the morning mist still clinging to the lower meadows and the first true frost crisping the cobwebs on the gate, let us bow our heads not just in habit, but in hopeful conversation. Let this week’s prayer be not a distant murmur, but a quiet word beside the hearth of … Continue reading A Prayer for This Week’s Turning Season
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and settled into the new year. This year, in a time of lies and war, let us especially pray for justice and for peace: Almighty and most merciful God, King of Kings and Judge of all the earth, we humble ourselves before Thy sovereign majesty. We acknowledge that from Thy hand comes … Continue reading A Prayer for Justice
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, this week I’d like to offer a prayer top those who produce this magazine. Over the years there have been prayers for almost everyone else. Now we should focus on our own, so to speak: Heavenly Father, Creator of rolling hills and quiet valleys,We, the faithful readers and stewards of Country Squire, gather our thanks.We give thanks for the … Continue reading A Prayer for CSM
VICAR As the soil rests beneath a veil of frost, our hearts turn with quiet gratitude to those who labour upon it. In our fields, barns, and woodlands, there are many whose hands are worn with the work of stewardship, whose resolve is tested by the uncertainty of wind and weather. For them, and for the families whose lives are woven into this ancient calling, … Continue reading A Prayer for Those on the Land
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and ready to return to work tomorrow if You are required to. I trust that You had an excellent Christmas break and enjoyed the festive season. This week, with Epiphany almost upon us, let us look at Epiphany and what it represents: Epiphany Sunday is the Christian celebration of the moment Jesus was … Continue reading An Epiphany Prayer
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and that You are not suffering too much from an excess of port and mince pies. This week, on a Sunday where many are looking ahead to the new year, and considering resolutions they hope will be long-lasting — resolutions that span health, generosity, habits that deepen life — there is no … Continue reading A Prayer for the Already Resolved
VICAR This Sunday, Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, the final purple candle of the Advent wreath is lit. Often called the ‘Angel’s Candle’, it symbolises Love. The readings shift our gaze from the cosmic promise of a Saviour to the intimate, personal ‘yes’ that made the incarnation possible. We meet Mary, the young woman of Nazareth, visited by the archangel Gabriel. The focus is on … Continue reading A Prayer for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
VICAR As the frost grips the land and the fires are banked high, our thoughts turn with particular concern to those laid low by illness. In our surgeries, hospitals, and homes, there are many wrestling with this year’s heavy bout of flu, their strength tested, their routines halted. For them, and for their worried families, the season is one of waiting and weariness, a trial … Continue reading A Prayer for Those with Flu
