CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Vegetables, Dairy		Vegetables	4	Servings

INGREDIENTS

8		White onions
1/2	pt	Whipping cream
4	tb	Flour
1/4	ts	Cayenne pepper
4	tb	Butter
1/2	ts	Salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Peel the onions.  Parboil in about 3/4 cup water.
(I do this part    in a covered casserole in the microwave). Make white
sauce with    rest of ingredients. If you like a stronger onion flavor,
thin the    white sauce with part or all of the onion water. Otherwise,
thin it    with your choice of cream, milk, water, chicken broth or
whatever
flavor you like.  Add onions and bake at 325 to 350 until bubbly. If
you're a real creamed onion pig like we are, this will not serve four.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

A Message from our Provider:

“Jesus: so far ahead of his time that we’re still no closer to catching up”

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