by Ushiki Keiichi, member  Kakamigahara Church, Chubu District

A men’s fellowship meets at our church every month. Seven years ago, we considered starting an event we could do throughout the year, and one of our members suggested holding a class on making noodles from scratch. As a result, we decided to form what we called a “somenkai” (noodle fellowship) separate from our sonenkai (men’s fellowship). [Ed. note: The character for “noodle,” pronounced “men,” was used instead of “nen” (year or age) to form this made-up word for a play-on-words effect.]

We generally hold our event on the third Sunday of the month, and from June to August we make soba noodles, while the rest of the year we make udon. [Ed. note: Soba noodles are thin and made of buckwheat flour, while udon noodles are thick and made of wheat flour.] Two of our members were experienced noodle-makers, so they serve as teachers, while the 6 “somenkai” members make noodles for 30 to 40 people each time.

For udon noodles, we gather an hour before the worship service to first knead the flour and press it down to the right thickness to let it set for awhile. After the service, we do the additional work of folding and cutting the dough to make the noodles. The children then take the noodles to the kitchen, where the women do the final preparation for the meal. For soba noodles, the process is a bit different, and we take about one hour after the service to make those. We eat the udon noodles hot in a soup with various toppings, and serve the soba noodles cold.

We now make the noodles more efficiently than when we began seven years ago, and the pastor and church members along with any guests enjoy the meal after church. As soba noodles are rather thin and difficult to cut properly, taking quite a bit of time, the church purchased a special cutting board for making noodles. We store it at the church, and various members contribute to provide the ingredients each week. Thus, the “somenkai” exists with the help and cooperation of the pastor and church members. It has been a great encouragement to our team for everyone to say how delicious the noodles are.

Through this activity, the fellowship of our sonenkai as a whole has certainly deepened, and from February 2017, we added a new activity, which is to hold a cooking class for men on the third Wednesday of every month. It’s entitled, “Let’s prepare a simple meal and eat together.” We’d like to continue to increase our activities in the future. (Tr. TB)

From Shinto no Tomo (Believers’ Friend), May, 2018 issue

うどんとそばの麺打ち講習会　壮麺会

岐阜・各務原教会員　牛木恵一

　私たちの教会では、毎月壮年会を開催しています。７年ほど前の会合の際、壮年会として年間を通してできる活動はないだろうかと模索しました。会員の中から麺打ち教室はどうかと提案があり、壮年会とは別にうどんとそばを打つ「壮麺会」が発足しました。

　原則毎月第3日曜日に実施し、6～8月はそば打ち、その他の月はうどん打ちを実施しています。麺打ち経験が豊富な教会員2人が講師になり、6人の壮麺会メンバーで30〜40人分くらいの麺を打ちます。

　うどんのときは、礼拝開始１時間前から粉打ち、まとめ、踏み、寝かしまでの作業します。そして礼拝終了後にのし、たたみ、切りの作業を行っています。切った麺は、子どもたちが調理場まで運んでくれます。そばのときは、礼拝終了後１時間程度で作れます。

　婦人会が中心となって麺をゆで、つゆと共にいただきます。うどんはかけうどんにして温かく、そばはざるそばにして冷たくします。

　7年前に初めて麺を打ったときより、手際よくおいしく作れるようになってきました。牧師、教会員はもちろん、他教会から礼拝説教に来た牧師にも食べてもらいます。皆のおいしいとの感想が何よりの励みになっています。

　麺を打つのに必要な麺棒、こね鉢、打ち台などは、教会の備品として調達しました。そばの麺切りは細くて難しく時間がかかるので、麺切り台を購入しました。これらは教会で管理、保管しています。材料は、会員の協力によってその都度、調達しています。壮麺会自体、牧師をはじめ、教会員全員の協力により成り立っています。

　この活動をきっかけに壮年会自体の交わりも深まり、昨年２月からは男性主体の料理講座「簡単料理作って食べよう」を毎月第３水曜日に実施しています。今後もさまざまな活動を計画したいと思っています。(信徒の友5月号）