May Procession
6th May 2016
On Friday 6th May the children, staff and parents were delighted to welcome Father Peter Newsam, the parish priest of Petworth, Midhurst and Duncton to deliver a short liturgy to celebrate Our Lady as part of the School’s annual May Procession.
Father Peter explained to the children that Mary is a mother to all of us; as the children might tell their own mothers when they experience happiness or sadness, he urged them to also visit Barrow Hills’ very own Mary – a statue situated in the School’s beautiful orchard – to express their emotions. The designated spot where the statue is sited represents ‘a special and quiet area of the School where all can be still’.
During the May Procession, boys attending Barrow Hills sat in the pews while the girls (from nursery to age 13) held hands – younger children linking up with an older child – and processed up the aisle of the School’s Chapel before laying down bunches of spring flowers at the feet of the statue of Mary. The May Procession was completed with Belle, from Year 4, placing a beautiful crown of flowers onto the head of the statue of Mary. Commenting on the May Procession, Chaplain Gillie Nicholls says, “We are very grateful to Father Peter for visiting Barrow Hills on such a sunny spring day, to help us honour the Blessed Virgin Mary at our annual May Procession. The children loved taking part in the ceremony and the wonderful weather made the day’s celebrations even more poignant.”