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Viewpoint from Revd Sue Hemsley Halls 06/05/2022
 Revd Sue Hemsley Halls
Priest in Charge
Parish of South Trinity Broads
Hurray for May!
May always seemed a good month when I was a child, with lots of family birthdays, parties, and outings. Some time off school was always guaranteed with May Day and Whit week, better known now as the Spring Bank holiday
I still particularly like the month of May. It’s an upbeat time in the church calendar leading from Easter and the resurrection towards Pentecost, when we celebrate the gift of the Spirit and the birth of the church
 In the natural world, it’s a time of colour, growth, and freshness. Many flower gardens are at their best in May, while on farms, allotments, and vegetable patches, there’s a spurt in growth and the promise of good things to come
However, perhaps this year it doesn’t seem such a good time to you. Our lives have been shadowed by the pandemic, our TVs are showing graphic pictures of the war and suffering in Ukraine, we face increased bills especially for energy, sporadic queues and shortages keep occurring, and there are ongoing concerns about the health and conservation of our planet
Yet when times are bad, it really helps us to think about the positives: it’s good to celebrate the things we can and to count our blessings. Our own wellbeing is improved if we take the time to notice what is good around us. A prayer in a chapter entitled ‘Celebrate the present moment’ includes the following:
‘May we accept this day, O God,
as a gift to be treasured,
a life to be enjoyed,
a trust to be kept,
and a hope to be fulfilled’
And we can also improve someone else’s day by giving them some of our time, a small gift, or an act of kindness. An African friend of mine often says. “May you be blessed, and may you be a blessing to others”. We’ve all got something to celebrate when that happens
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