The group Catholics on Campus hosted its first Beyond Ramen event of the 2010 fall semester last Wednesday, Sept. 15. The event kicked off at 8 p.m. at Holy Trinity Student Parish, across from Sill Hall.
This event began last fall and aims to bring students together in a friendly atmosphere to create home-cooked food and have a good time in the process.
Beyond Ramen is an event for people who like to cook or do not know how to cook at all. William Alt, assistant Director of Campus Ministry, sees home cooking as healthier for people and the environment.
Alt led the event this year.
Alt describes the practices of this event as having correlations to the Christian faith. Throughout Bible scriptures and depictions of Jesus in art, he is seen “breaking bread,” sitting down and sharing a meal with his friends. This symbolism is the foundation of this event.
It began with students standing in a circle, introducing themselves and speaking about their all-time favorite food. This broke the ice, and got everyone acquainted and comfortable with each other.
Then the cooking began. The students were broken into groups, with each group cooking one of two dishes – penne pasta with basil pesto or classic spaghetti with red tomato sauce.
The students were given some brief information about fresh produce and where it comes from. The tomatoes and basil used in these dishes were actually from Alt’s garden.
The students were given a recipe to follow and cooked in the church kitchen. Alt wanted everyone to get his or her hands into the food, with each individual making a contribution to the dish.
Before the meal, everyone gathered downstairs and was led in prayer by one person, a volunteer, and everyone ate and shared the food that they created.
“This is what we do for Beyond Ramen,” Alt said. “We’ll do different things; we usually have a different menu each night, each time we do it. So we’ll cook, and then we’ll go downstairs to the lounge after we’re done and share what we eat.”
This particular Beyond Ramen event had the largest turnout since it started last year. Catholics on Campus had always cooked but never made it formal until then.
Beyond Ramen is done once a month on Wednesday nights, but every Wednesday Catholics on Campus sponsors a different activity. Possible activities for next Wednesday are a game night or an excursion out.
Catholics on Campus has activities just about every night of the week, not just on Wednesdays. It had Pizza and Praise where everyone receives free pizza while enjoying music, which is held on Thursday nights.
“You’re always welcomed,” Alt said. “You don’t have to be Catholic, we want to make sure everyone feels welcomed no matter where they’re at on their journey.”
To find out more about Holy Trinity Student Parish, Catholics on Campus and information about their events, visit their website at www.catholicsoncampus.org.
