CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy		Sauces, Easy, To post	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

4	tb	Butter
2		Cloves garlic , minced
1	cn	(14 oz) of crushed tomatoes
1	ts	Basil
		Salt & fresh ground pepper
1 1/2	tb	Flour
1 1/2	c	Hot milk
1	ts	Nutmeg
1/4	c	Parmesan cheese (fresh)

INSTRUCTIONS

Melt 2 tbsp butter and saut. garlic. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil.
Simmer while preparing rest of dish. Melt remaining 2 tbsp of butter and
stir in flour. Cook, stirring until thickened. Gradually add hot milk, cook
and stir until thickened. Add tomato mixture and nutmeg, then stir in
Parmesan cheese.
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #9 by jarin@odyssee.net (JL) on Mar 12, 1999

A Message from our Provider:

“Hopelessness has surprised me with patience. #Margaret J. Wheatley”

Here are some reasons it is okay to celebrate Christmas: 1. The day itself is not really the day Christ was born. Nobody actually has the exact day down, but most believe it was not during this time of year at all. Probably it took place in the spring, not on a “cold winter's night that was so deep.” 2. Diversity over the years has taken away much of the “Romish” flavor to the holiday. Our Catholic friends do as they wish on the night before and the day of Christmas, that is granted. But we do not have a state church. There are so many other ways Christmas is celebrated that no one really thinks about it the way the Puritans did so many years ago. The problem is not so acute because of so many years of varied expressions. At least this is true in our part of the world. 3. God can be honored in gift-giving and generosity as well as in singing carols and telling the story. They’re both important if done in the right spirit. We don't have to make something spiritual out of giving gifts. You may make a birthday cake to Jesus if you wish, but you don't have to. We do need to be Christian, however, about everything we do. Emphasizing the giving part of the day can heal lots of wounds, open calcified hearts, stir up gratefulness, and just be plain fun. God's not against fun is He? 4. There may be better things to be different about. In other words, we might show our radical difference better in the way we treat other shoppers, the kindness we show to retail clerks, the warmth of our hearts, the largeness of our generosity, the thankfulness we express and really feel. 5. There are admittedly some great opportunities to make Christ known during Christmas. With all that is bad about it, we can still make our point. And we will have some sympathy for our message. For years I've led Christmas Eve services, short ones of only 45 minutes, but packed with meaning. The building will be full and all kinds of our friends and family will hear the truth as clearly as we are willing to express it.

Jim Elliff