Lavonne Bierwagen, a minister's wife, has written letters of help, suggestion, and inspiration to the women in her home church and to those in the other church's of her husband's district. She has sent two of them to this office and we are reproducing portions of them for this section of THE MINISTRY ID the hope that they will be helpful to other minister's wives and the women in their churches. Mrs. Bierwagen titles her letters "Just Between Us Girls." The following is a sample letter.
A few weeks ago, as I was sitting in one of our churches, I noticed that we had several visitors, and I wished so much that our home was closer so that I could invite them all to dinner and Sabbath fellowship with us. I knew th"s was a little impractical, so then I wished all our good helpers in the church would show their ffendliness to these strangers among us and invite them home. Among the visitors was a couple to whom my husband had given Bible studies. How they needed friendship! An elderly woman was visiting relatives not of our faith and I suppose it would be natural to think that she would want to spend all her time with her dear ones. But it is often the case that folks just long to fellowship with those that believe the same way as they do on the Sabbath day. This longing is not completely satisfied just by being in church for two and a half hours. I hope that you invited them home w'th you.
Seldom does a week go by when we are home that we do not have guests. I almost always invite the visitors first. When there are none, I like to invite those I feel would be encouraged by an invitation. Some are lonely. Some drive long distances to come to church and need refreshment before the trip home. Most of these folks I invite on Sabbath morning as I see the need. Therefore I am not what you would call prepared for company, but I think there is always sufficient.
With several churches and only one home we do need helpers. I know how much we appreci-
ate it when we are away from home and you good people open your homes and hearts to us. I also know that when you invite these visitors or those who need friendship that you will be blessed for it and these folk will leave our church thinking it's the friendliest place on earth.
The following notes may help you to be more hospitable and enjoy happy hostessing:
1. Be Organized. If you are expecting guests who have been preinvited then do everything you possibly can on Friday or the day before. Set the table Sabbath morning and there will be a minimum of things to do at dinnertime. Have you ever been in a home where it took an hour and a half or more to get Sabbath dinner on the table? We have. It's not very enjoyable. I'll tell you how I plan my Sabbath dinner. It may work for you too.
Quite often, even though I have not yet invited anyone to dinner, I make enough extra for three or four and then if we don't need it we can always use it later. On Friday I prepare three dishes to go in the oven—a roast (this can be any kind as long as it takes an hour to bake), I scrub and oil potatoes for baking and put them on a rack, then I make a vegetable casserole such as corn pudding, or grated raw carrots with parsley and a little oil over them and put them in a covered cl;sh. I usually prepare a tossed salad and put it in Tupperware, or make a jelled salad.
Sometimes I mix up a drink and have it in the refrigerator. Then I make a dessert if I have time. If not, fruit and cookies are always acceptable. (By the way, if you entertain as much as I do, you may resort to water for the drink. Fruit juice is rather expensive.) I have an auto-
matic timer on my stove—a wonderful invention. So Sabbath morning, before we leave for church, I put the three foods in the oven, set it to bake one hour and to shut off at twelve-thirty, or whatever time I expect to get home. Then when I get home I take the salad, drink, and dessert out of the refrigerator and as the table is set, we are all ready to eat. Absolutely no Sabbath work involved! And it's wonderful if you have other appointments.
- 2. Keep Meals Simple. Do not plan for more variety for company dinner than you would for your own family. They will be happy to be one of the family and to share the things you have. And you will be more rested and able to show more hospitality to your guests.
- 3. Don't Invite Only Those Who Can Return the Invitation. You know it is more blessed to give than to receive. Last Thanksgiving time, though it would have been nice to be with family and close friends, we enjoyed having the older members of our church to dinner, who had no family close and no special place to go.
- 4. Have Something Special on Sabbath. It need not be at dinnertime, and it need not be a dessert, but sometime during the Sabbath have something that you don't ordinarily have.
- 5. Be Prepared for Emergencies. But don't think you have to be prepared to the point that you can't invite guests unless everything is preplanned. When your friends come in unexpectedly, you feed them, don't you? You can do the same when friends come to visit the church! It is a good idea to have ideas in the back of your head ready to pop out when the need arises. I keep some foods on hand just for emergencies or quick entertaining. They are things that I would not ordinarily rely on for everyday meals, because I like to make things the old-fashioned way and try to preserve all the vitamins I can.
I'll be happy to give you a few ideas for quick cooking and I know you can think of many more. Most of these things are suitable for Sabbath preparation. Some of them you may want to save for some other day when company comes unexpectedly. A lot of these things you can make on top of the stove in a skillet or in an electric fry pan.
Potato or substitute—Minute mashed potato, Minute rice, or canned whole new potatoes creamed with canned peas. Gravies can be made quickly with gravy mixes or canned soups.
Entrees—Sliced Nuteena with tomato or mushroom soup; Beef Style over Minute rice; Proteena sliced with mushroom soup; Chicken Style simmered in celery soup and a little
chicken seasoning (McKay's); Minute macaroni—stir in cheese until melted; macaroni or spaghetti dinners; gluten steaks with soup sauces or tomato sauce; Minute rice seasoned with McKay's Chicken Seasoning or Vegex.
Vegetables—Canned or frozen.
Salads—Always good to keep fresh vegetables on hand, cottage cheese, and canned fruits.
Desserts—Keep the cooky jar full and you can always fill in with fruits—fresh or canned.
Breads—Pepperidge Farm brown-and-serve rolls are nice to keep on hand. They are made with vegetable shortening.
You girls who have freezers are lucky indeed. It takes little more time to double or triple everything you make during the week and you can put the extra casseroles, pies, breads, et cetera, in the freezer and you will always have something made up for busy days or unexpected company.
Just remember that long after the meal is forgotten, your guests will remember you for your hospitality. Happy hostessing to you!
Sincerely yours,
LAVONNE BIERWAGON
