Worship in the Woods

It's not easy having a small church. But one advantage is that it isn't hard for the whole congregation to go on a trip together.

We had the chance to do this just 

this past weekend. We took a trip up to a mountain resort area called Kiyosato, about 3 hours north of Tokyo. The daughter of one of the families in the church works at a place called KEEP, the Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project. 

This is a facility that provides nature experiences for people of all ages. We stayed in a beautiful lodge and had the chance to go out for hikes in the woods, and made crafts from things we picked up. At night, the stars were more brilliant than I had ever seen before.

On Sunday we hiked into the woods to a fire pit. We lit a fire and as we sat around it to have our church service. On a nearby stump we set up our advent candles, and on another we built a small nativity scene with snow, leaves and branches.

The children performed a song on hand bells and we enjoyed a time of worship. After the service we ate lunch – cream stew, rice, cheese and sausages cooked over the fire. We also roasted marshmallows, mushrooms and dried squid.

The children had a great time playing in the snow. Everyone made snow angels and the older children pulled the younger ones on a sled.

It was a wonderful experience to worship surrounded by the beauty of God's creation.

Mochi Pounding

Petan, Petan, Petan. That is the sound of mochi pounding (as any Japanese from preschool age on could tell you). Mochi is pounded sweet rice, and is as much a part of the end of the year and new year in Japan as turkey is part of Thanksgiving in the US.

Most of the preschools we work at have mochi pounding events at this time of year. The school I was at yesterday brought out their big wood mortar and mallets so all the kids could have a swing at it.

After the principal and I had done the initial mashing and pounding of the steamed rice, each of the kids got to swing the mallet for a few times, which can be pretty hard as the mallets are heavy and the rice is very sticky. But all the kids had a great time watching and cheering on the teachers and classmates as they pounded.

Later, for lunch, the kids got to taste the results of their labor with mochi in a special winter soup called ozoni and mochi wrapped around sweet bean paste.

Throwing Beans and eating in silence.

Today, February 3, is Setsubun in Japan. It is also known as bean throwing day since traditionally families throw roasted soybeans at one family member dressed as an oni (demon) and shout "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi," which means "Demons out, good luck in." This is a way to drive the bad luck out of your house and bring in the good luck. In addition to throwing the roasted

soybeans, each member of the family is supposed to eat one soy bean for each year of their age.

This is a popular festival and most temples will have special guests come to throw beans and small gifts to the crowds who come. This is also a popular celebration for children, and many children will make oni masks and origami boxes to hold their beans.

Recently, however, we learned about a new aspect to this festival. This is something that traditionally is done in western Japan, but recently has been making its way throughout the country (mostly thanks to heavy marketing by grocery and convenience stores). A special rolled sushi, called a Eho-maki is served on Setsubun. Each person is supposed to face toward a particular compass point, depending on the Chinese zodiac, make a wish, and eat the entire, uncut sushi roll in silence.

We got some sushi rolls from Xavier's preschool and decided to try it. Can you see how fun it looks? Our verdict- It definitely seems to be a tradition that would be promoted by a store that specializes in meals for the single person. I think the more exciting tradition is the bean throwing, which the children seem to enjoy.