Time Travelling: A Children's Pilgrimage to Southwell Minster



On 15th March 2007 Westdale Junior School's Year 6 went on a pilgrimage (a religious journey) to Southwell Minster. (The event was called Time Travelling.) When all the schools met up in the Minster nave, Mr. Harding gave a welcoming speech to begin the day. During the day there were many activities for the children, four in the morning and three after the children had had their lunch. After they had eaten, children visited a shop inside the Minster which was selling gifts and souvenirs for them to take home.

At the beginning of the morning we all met up with our pilgrim guides who told us about the Southwell Minster building. We went into the building through a big door, and all the different schools sat down in the nave. We all sang three songs, one called TimeTravelling, the second song was God Goes with Us and, last of all, The Minster Song. We also sang a pilgrim song which is called We Are on a Journey because when pilgrims come on their visit they sing a song. While Mr Harding said a prayer we joined in with him and said Amen at the end.


Sign language activity

Inside Southwell Minster, the first activity for some of our groups was to learn sign language, which is used for people with hearing disabilities. Very professionally, a woman taught us how to do sign language for the song Time Travel Travelling. By the end, most of us were extremely good and needed no help at all. The signs for the first line of the song from the song are these: Put two fingers on your right hand (pointing to your watch – this movement stands for "time") and then bring your right hand to your shoulder twice - this movement stands for "travel travelling".


Copes activity

Copes are the part of the clothes that the bishop wears. We learnt all about the copes which are kept in a large semi-circular shaped box with a special type of wood inside to keep all the moths away. A lady called Vicki took out some special copes and put them on display. Then one of us volunteered to try on one of the bishop's copes and the hat. After that, we made bookmarks using the cross-stitch technique. When we had nearly finished them, we realized that it the image represented the cross.


Newstead lectern activity

The Newstead lectern is a lectern in the form of an eagle which was made for Newstead Abbey. When Henry VIII was on the throne the monks threw it in to the lake and for 250 years it was under the water until someone found it. Inside the lectern some of the monks' documents were found. They had survived under water all that time. When we had looked at the lectern we did a "dragon hunt" on the choir stalls, looking for a dragon in the carvings on the choir stalls.


The Choir activity

We sat on the pews called the choir stalls and the lady asked us to see if we could find the lizard, snake, bird and holly carved into wood at the ends of the pews. Then we took it in turns to be a choir boy or choir girl. We put some robes on. They were blue or a browny red. Then the lady told us to stand in twos and pretend to hold a book while we walked down the aisle. Next we sang Light Up The Fire. We had to stand up together and sit down together. Everybody in the group thought it was great.


The chapter house activity

At one point on the trip we went into the chapter house, a room which has lots of amazing carvings. The archway leading into it is made of carved leaves called the Leaves of Southwell. Inside it there are more carvings of leaves and also "green men" carvings.


Prayer beads activity

Another of the activities was making a prayer bracelet. Many of the children enjoyed this activity. We were told what the beads meant: one of the beads meant a prayer for help; another bead meant Sorry; the third bead meant Thank you; the fourth bead meant Please and the last bead meant Amen.


Fair Trade activity

The fair trade activity was at the south side of the minster. We learnt about fair trade and how trade has an effect on farmers in other countries. The leader told us about a farmer called Lucial and how he didn't get a fair price for what he sold. Then he gave us a square of fair trade chocolate. When the Coop started selling this food, Lucial got better money for what he sold to them and now he can afford to send his children to school and buy fresh food for his family.


The drama activity

A group of us played out a drama of the story of Moses in the Great Hall next to the Minster. Everyone pretended they were slaves and were escaping from Egypt. Suddenly the guards heard and started to chase them. When they were far away from Egypt they still couldn't find the promise land. So they stayed where they were for the night. In the morning they could see the promised land. Everyone enjoyed the play and so did the guide.


Baptism (Font) activity

A font is like a bowl of holy water. To baptise a baby you give it to the vicar. When the vicar has the baby in his hands, he gets one handful of water and pours it on the baby's head. He does this two more times. Then the vicar puts the sign of a cross on the baby's forehead. The vicar will give then pass the baby to the dad. He might give it to the mum.


Outside the Minster activity

We went outside the Minster to looked at the building and some of the decorations on it. It is about 300 ft tall. The roof is made of lead and it is quite steep. We looked at the patterns carved into the stone. There are lots of different designs. Some were zig zag and others were wavy ones. On the East stained glass window there are pictures of John, Luke, Mark and Matthew.


Lunch Time

During lunch time, many of the pupils visited the gift shop which had a range of items like stationary sets and postcards. We also had time to look at one of the many features in Southwell Minster - the Angel window. This magnificent stain-glass window is decorated with pictures of angels and bible scenes and is very colourful.

Home

At the end of the day we finished our pilgrimage with another short service. All the schools were given a candle to take back to their own schools to remind everyone that Jesus said, "I am the light of the world". Then we returned to school by bus.




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