McHenry County Blog

Our brave little squirrel fell out of a tree at the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake.


The men had finished assembling the new plastic benches for the outdoor chapel.

No more splinters.

No more aching backs or having to bring a lawn chair.

These benches have backs.

And were they heavy to move.

They were all leveled and spaced 22 inches apart.

We wondered where the little squirrel was.

We had gotten quite attached to him.

Even named him “Jose.”

I never saw the second one, but I'm told, just for balance, she was named “Maria.” She was more shy.

The man who first made contact with the little fellow picked him up and petted him.

I volunteered to take him to a veterinarian.

After I got to the office, I was told that he could lose his license if he treated a squirrel, that I should call DNR.

I knew what the Department of Natural Resources would say.

“It's only a squirrel. There are plenty more.”

In other words, “Get over it.”

After the squirrel died, I buried him in our yard with the rest of the pets.

I guess no one will be surprised at Sunday morning's 8 AM service by a little creature wondering around their feet.

Too bad.

Labels: First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, Message of the Day, R.I.P., Squirrel, UMM, United Methodist Men

While at the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake yesterday and today, men were putting together and installing new benches for the outdoor chapel.


It would sit there chewing on a maple seed—or a helicopter seed, as some in my family call them—and allow me to approach close enough to take pictures without a long lens like this one.

From allowing men to touch it to allowing others to hold it, this little fellow was fearless.

Labels: First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, General Commission on United Methodist Men, Squirrel, UMM

Last Saturday morning Mike Fraser, who runs Mike's Service Center next to where Walmart used to be, provided all sorts of helpful hints on car care.

He was speaking to the United Methodist Men of Crystal Lake.

Fraser is a guy who prefers maintenance to repair of cars.

While I was commuting to Springfield, I know he saved me from at least one accident with his expert diagnostic talent.

When you select a car repair guy, most people probably find anecdotal recommendations.

I was surprised to learn there is actually one solid measuring device, at least for cars who fail the emission test administered down the street from Mike's place of business.

“We're graded on that,” Fraser revealed.

“I'm 100%,” he said matter-of-factly.

That certainly got my attention, although my 1995 Cadillac has apparently been grandfathered in and never has to be tested again.

Fraser personally takes the cars he and his men fix over to the testing place.

“We've tried real hard to serve our community and God. The business was a gift from God,” Fraser started.

It wasn't until after his presentation on the necessity of changing one's oil every 3,000 miles or three months that an astounding accomplishment came out.

Fraser has arranged for over 500 cars to be donated to Willow Creek's car ministry, which is run by the chief pastor's brother, Don Hybels. Run out of Elgin now, the Willow Creek is so organized that it has developed a “how to start a car ministry” kit.

The Crystal Lake Evangelical Free Church has one, as does the Cornerstone United Methodist Church I Plato Center.

Fraser pointed out that those needing a car also need to be able to maintain and insure it. Just giving a car to a person in need is not enough to ensure a good experience for the person.

“I'd take a car in and Mike goes, 'Willow Creek,'” customer David Hill explained.

“When I send them over, I tell them exactly what's needed,” Fraser said.

He explained that Willow Creek repair, resell of send them to auction, using the proceeds of those sold for its car ministry.

But, let me jump back to the advice part of the talk.

“Oil can last a long time under ideal conditions. We don't have ideal conditions.”

Discussing synthetic oil, Fraser cautioned that, even with the new cleaning agents, the oil filters needed to be changed every 3,000 miles and the oil needed to be kept full.

“People tend not to even check the oil,” he observed.

He wasn't talking directly to me. It just seemed that way.

“When oils get older they tend to break down and dissipate.

“If you can't read the sticker, it's probably time to change it.”

Fraser also stressed that tire pressure should be kept up to the high end of the manufacturer's recommendation.

“If you don't rotate the tires, they won't wear evenly,” he added.

Concerning batteries running down because of leaving car or trunk lids open, he recommended “battery packs now at Farm and Fleet (in Woodstock).

“They will literally start your car. I know because my (relation concealed to minimize the embarrassment) has called me at least twice and it's always after (his wife) has left.”

He cautioned about jumping batteries incorrectly, but the talk got diverted before he could explain the right way.

Do it wrong and you can ruin the main processor that costs $400.

“You're computer's gone.

“You can burn up an alternator pretty quick, (too),” Fraser said.

Mike forgot to tell the guys how to jump a car, but, as luck would have it, he gave a firsthand demonstration to my wife, who found out that her Toyota does not turn off the lights when she shuts the passenger side the way it does with the driver's door.

Jumping her car after church Sunday, Mike told my wife to

• attach the cable to the positive side of the battery in the dead car.
• Next, attach the other end to the positive side of the live battery.
• Step three is attaching the negative cable to the live battery.
• The final step is the tricky one. Don't attach it to the negative side of the dead battery. Attach it to some metal part of the car with the dead battery.

Now that it's spring, the expert advised that people drive with the windows open and radio off to see if they can hear any sounds they don't think should be there.

That reminded me of when I heard such a sound and drove the car over.

Mike turned the engine off and the sound continued.

Somehow my electric razor got turned on and was making the sound.

Fortunately, Mike didn't tell that story.

He suggested spraying the car hinges and locks with WD-40.

“It keeps it lubricated, keeps the moisture out.”

No graphic in the locks, though. It clogs them up.

“We try to do it when we do oil changes, but the quick ones don't have the time,” he said.

In addition to Fraser, Hank Whitley, who lives in Covered Bridge Trials and moved here about the turn of the century, share some of his background.

Whitley got a general contractor's license in North Carolina and, while officially retired, he can't seem to pass up opportunities to fix people's homes. He's now working with UMM President Jim Nelson to renovate the family's kitchen.

His phone number is 815-477-7238.

Mike's Service Station can be reached at 815-459-1040.

Labels: Car Ministry, Don Hybels, First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, Hank Whitley, Mike Fraser, MIke's Service Center, UMM, United Methodist Men, WD-40, Willow Creek

Another weekend at the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake.

Another version of the cross by sculptor Dominic Zinanni.

This is a plain cross showing the artist's representation of Jesus' face.

I have posted a close-up, upon which you can click to see an enlargement.

This was United Methodist Men's Sunday at church.

The first one I remember.

The sermon was given by David A. Adams from Nashville.

Outside of the local bishop, he is perhaps the highest ranking official of the Methodist Church to ever visit Crystal Lake. He preached at all four services.

The church is divided into a number of administrative divisions. One of the smallest is the General Commission on United Methodist Men.

Adams is its General Secretary.

His sermon was on men.

Surprise.

He talked about Cain and Abel.

About how Cain killed Able when Abel's sacrifice to God was found more worthy by God than Cain's.

Even though Cain was banished as punishment, God put a mark on Cain to protect him.

And gave Adam and Eve another son from whom Jesus descended.

Us, too.

The music was more manly today.

We didn't sing “Onward Christian Soldiers,” but we didn't sing anything that sounded like love songs either.

A men's quartet even sang. They are, from left to right Dave Morrow, Brian Adcock, Terry Santos, Brian Morrow (see also this and this about the younger Morrow).

It's almost as if those who put together the program had read, “Why Men Hate Church.”

And, in fact, at least one of them had.

Crystal Lake UMM President Jim Nelson said he did in introducing the program September 3, 2006. That's the day the program was on the men's Walk to Emmaus. Another one of which is coming up, by the way. If you are interested, email or call me.

After the service it appears that Adams' message got through to more than just men. Here he is hugging a teenager. I recognize the one of the right as Tamara Heath, daughter of our associated pastor.

Labels: Brian Adcock, Brian Morrow, Dave Morrow, David A. Adams, First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, General Commission on United Methodist Men, Jim Nelson, Terry Santos, UMM, United Methodist Men

Six guys from the United Methodist Men of the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake went to Laurel, Mississippi, to do some fixing up.

They pretty much went blind, having a place to stay and an address of a warehouse run by the Methodist Church and a cell phone number of the supervisor, named Buddy Cox.

There was a Fifth Avenue and a Fifth Street and they got the wrong one the first day. The phone number saved the day, even though the, “I forgot you were coming,” on the other end was temporarily disconcerting.

“We really had to work hard to finish this job in a week,” UMM president Jim Nelson told the first Saturday on the month 7:30 breakfast meeting.

“It’s been two years (since Hurricane Katrina). You don’t see trees down.”

“From a Katrina damage viewpoint, there is a lot left,” added Bill Muilkens. “There was ahouse down the block with a blue tarp on it. This isn’t done yet. It’s hanging over us.”

Buddy is the construction coordinator for the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church. He looks for projects that are “storm-related.” He’s got about 25 lined up.

“There was a need here,” Nelson said.

Mike Lovejoy was the designated audio-visual person. He provided a narrative along with the pictures.

The group stayed at a retreat called Walkaway Springs about twenty miles north of Laurel. There were not enough people to justify having the retreat’s staff fix meals, so, supplying their own breakfasts, it was sort of a bed and breakfast.

The first picture of the group showed smiling faces “because we haven’t started yet,” Lovejoy said.

He described the neighborhood as being about at the poverty level, maybe a little above.

A mother and her daughter lived in the home the group worked upon.

The assignment involved fixing the roof and rehabbing the 5 by 8 foot bathroom.

“You wouldn’t think it would take a week to remodel it,” Lovejoy observed.

“There was a hole next to the bathtub where you could look down and see mud. We decided right away we’d have to just rip everything out.”

“The tub drain was leaking,” added Bob Riepl.

“It was leaking because it wasn’t connected,” Lovejoy added.

“Some animal had decided to store acorns under the vanity,” Muilkens explained. “They came in through the hole.”

The basic instructions from the man everyone referred to as “Buddy” were that the repaid should be “safe, secure and sanitary.”

While five of the men had taken a two-day van trip to Mississippi, Carl Moon arrived the second day by train.

“Carl pretty well rescued us when he came. Carl is a ‘doer,’” Lovejoy explained.

“Wednesday we ended up working (on drywall) until 10 o’clock.”

That night they had hoped to be able to attend a Bible class in a church that backed up to the grandmother’s home, but, to complete the project by Friday, they had to get the drywall up that night.

One photo showed men sawing in the backyard.

“The saw horse there was the bath tub,” Nelson added.

“Buddy grabbed a couple people for a day to unload a prefab house,” he continued.

The group was told the home would be unloaded in Seminary, which they took to be a religious training facility. It wasn’t. The town was named Seminary.

“All they had to buy was the drywall,” Nelson explained.

The unloading of the prefab was apparently a big deal locally. It made the TV news that night.

Nelson said the group delighted in the names of places. His favorite was Dry Creek Water Park.

Lovejoy explained that that the bathroom joist was a 2 by 4. They replaced it with an 8 by 10.

“While we were down there, we kept smelling this sewer gas,” he continued.

“They had a commode in a back room. All of a sudden we heard water running. It was open.”

The team hooked it up to the sewer system.

Riepl explained that they went to restaurants for dinner.

“Only once we went back and washed up,” he said.

“We didn’t go to any restaurant twice,” Nelson added.

One night, when they smelled, they went to Appleby’s. As they were waiting to be seated a women looked them up and down very carefully..

“They put us as far back as they could and we were next to th(at) lady,” Nelson said.

One thing they didn’t do that Buddy said he likes to have on each project was to designate someone as a “listener.” The men were in “finish the project” mode.

“Bill (Muilkens) was sort of the listener,” Riepl explained. Muilkens is a chaplain at Centegra.

Besides listening and running errands and bringing supplies, Muilkens installed a new fan in the living room. He only dropped it once.

From almost the beginning, it was clear that the Methodist warehouse did not have everything that would be needed for the repair job. It did not stock treated wood, for example.

“Early on, we agreed we’d share the cost of other materials we didn’t have,” Riepl said. “I think we ended up paying $360 in supplies for the building project.”

“The Salvation Army was providing most of the funding (for Katrina repairs),” Riepl revealed. UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, “isn’t sending any money now,” but I am told is still working in the New Orleans area.

Lovejoy told of moving the light switch, which was originally over the sink and whose wires weren’t in a box.

Installing the tub Friday night, when they thought they were finished, “the drain fell apart. Bill was off to Lowe’s to get a replacement,” he continued.

After finishing Friday night and getting back to the retreat center, the six decided to sleep in.

But, at 6 o’clock a bell woke them up.

Just their luck that there was a Cursillo retreat at the non-denominational Walkaway Springs that weekend. A number of the men had attended a Walk to Emmaus, which is based upon the Cursillo tradition, so they knew about the early rising. They just didn’t think about it because they got to be so late.

One said they if they had thought about it they would have put a sign on the door telling the Cursillo team that they were not at their retreat.

Contributing to the success of the trip was that “Everybody was very flexible,” Riepl said.

“I was very moved by the experience,” Lovejoy concluded.

Jim Michaelson was also part of the crew.

= = = = =
In the top photo, Dr. Don Brandeau, Carl Moon, Denny Butson, Pastor Dave Seyller and Jim Nelson look at the pictures from the trip.

Next you see UMM President Jim Nelson introducing the program.

Beneath is Jerry Lindley listening to Nelson.

The route of the 900 mile trip is below right.

Mike Lovejoy explains one of the slides to the men.

In the next photograph, you can see Lovejoy, Jim MIchaelson, who went on the mission as well, Bob Riepl and Huntley.

A closer shot of Riepl and Huntley is below.

The bottom photo shows Bill Muilkens answering a question from a church member sitting in the back. To his left is Nelson. Pastor Dave Seyller is looking at the slide on the screen.

Labels: Bill Muilkens, Bob Riepl, Carl Moon, Cursillo, First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, Jim Michaelson, Jim Nelson, Laurel, Mike Lovejoy, Mississippi, UMM, United Methodist Men

My wife is a Starbuck’s addict.

The first Saturday of the month, Lee Schreiner, Treasurer of Rockford Urban Ministries, spoke to the United Methodist Men of the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake.

I haven’t had time to do a real story, but I bought some coffee from a table of “Just Goods” offerings.

This is a store dedicated to merchandising “Fair Trade” goods from foreign countries where the people making or growing them are paid enough to live on.

The price for coffee, being a commodity, is set on world markets, which may or may not be high enough to pay for a decent standard of living.

That is something any farmers reading this can identify with.

In any event, I bought some stocking stuffer Christmas ornaments and other presents.

Finally, I asked about the coffee.

I’m not a coffee drinker. That explains my initial disinterest.

I asked what kind of coffee was closest to the Folger’s my wife drinks in the morning.

The Columbian coffee you see in the photo was the answer.

It was expensive--$10 a pound, but I bought it anyway.

After all, our 17th wedding anniversary was coming and she’s worth it.

Yesterday, my wife told me it’s better than Starbuck’s.

That drinking it in the morning even made her less likely to buy a $3 cup of Starbuck’s coffee.

That really puts $10 a pound in perspective.

So, I’ve just emailed the Rockford store asking if they can deliver it to Crystal Lake.

Hey, we’re on a UPS route.

There’s a lot more to be told about the presentation, but this will have to do for now.

Labels: Just Goods, Rockford Urban Ministries, UMM, United Methodist Men

United Methodist Men member Bob Clark was the major part of the program for the First United Methodist Church’s Labor Day Saturday breakfast yesterday.

He and Abi Carlson told of how 35 went from Crystal Lake to New Orleans this summer on a mission trip.

“It was really amazing to see what those kids would do,” Clark said.

Some of the Crystal Lake group helped clean up and gut a home.

Everything was carted out and put on the street for eventual disposal.

“We saw a wedding video, pictures, a prom dress, everything,” Carlson said.

“We just ripped every single thing in the house out and left it out front on the street.”

“They took out a high school football uniform, little angles,” Clark added.

One day the owner watched as his family’s worldly possessions were taken in wheelbarrow loads to the curb.

He managed to salvage some financial records and the Bible that his father had given him.

That’s all.

The team members worked one-half hour in hazmat suits and then had one-half hour off.

And, it was hot.

“You know it’s hot when the locals are carrying gallon jugs of water,” Clark explained.

Teenager Carlson, who had gone on a similar trip last year, offered comparisons.

“What I was doing was taking out the walls and cleaning the kitchen.

“We were no longer allowed to use black trash bags. We had to use white ones, so people could see through them (to see what was inside.)

“The first year, they didn’t know all the precautions that should be taken. We did a lot of the mold cleansing.

“They didn’t let us do that this year.”

The first home she worked on only had “2 or 3 feet of water.”

She told of the danger of refrigerators.

A lot had been filled with food prior to the hurricane.

“If we even smelled a drop of that refrigerator, you’d be sick for a week,” an ACORN worker told them.

The Methodists worked through a group called ACORN.

To qualify for help, a family had to agree to move back to New Orleans.

The house house-guttings are valued at $10-12,000.

In addition to cleaning up the home, some teens volunteered at a summer camp for 10-12 kids.

“The first two days I got to hand out with the Kids Club,” Carlson said. “At first, they were kind of shy. Then, they warmed up.

“The worst thing I experienced was the effect it had on the children. It was like they were bi-polar.

While they were playful with Carlson, a boy was spitting on the next group and saying “four-letter words they shouldn’t know.”

“This kid described someone having been shot from his house—something a kid shouldn’t know.”

She said they took a little time to warm up to the Crystal Lake teens, but, once they did they were quite friendly.

Carlson also visited a nursing home where “I gave ladies manicures.”

“The 9th ward is like driving through a weed field, just a house here and there.

“You see vacant lots and the only way our could tell a house had been there was a porch and steps. 95% of the houses are gone or ramshackled.

“In the 9th ward you saw no (high water) lines (on the houses). You saw stuff on the roof.

“We heard about people getting trailers, but not being able to get electricity for six months.

“Parts of the 9th ward had just received water 18 months after the hurricane.

“The 9th ward is very upset when people drive through. They didn’t want people driving through and looking at them.”

Clark said that cars could “get stoned.”

He told of a church halfway up the hill to which looters had tied their boats. The looters chased the pastor out when he came back to get the Sacraments, their boom boxes blaring in one of the rooms.

“The coolest thing I saw there was a row of brightly painted houses,” Carlson said. “Blue, orange, yellow. It was the heart of New Orleans.”

The Methodist Church’s is only one of the local efforts to continue to help Louisiana and Mississippi recover two years after Hurricane Katrina’s destruction.

“Everything that is being done now is from the ecumenical community—very little form state or local government,” Clark said.

“You look at some houses and say the best thing to do would be to bulldoze them down.

“There are still National Guard driving around in New Orleans,” he added.

Labels: Abi Carlson, First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, Katrina, New Orleans, UMM, United Methodist Men

As I was taking my 10-year old over to visit (which turned into a sleepover) at a Lake in the Hills friend that he met at Camp Invention, I saw these signs.

Both were near the small Cottontail Park.

They would have made a perfect “Message of the Day.”

In fact, that is why I took them.

But, then, this morning driving a bit late to the United Methodist Men’s breakfast at the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, I saw this string of runners on Dole Avenue.

I didn’t get very good shots as we passed, but there were so many of them,I thought I would share them with you.

Is that you on the left?

Maybe these folks will get you up and about this weekend.

Do you feel energized?

Or do they just make you feel tired.

Maybe they have expended enough energy for all of us.

And, this reminds me that I did a more extensive story last Labor Day weekend of the types of morning activities that people were engaging in.

It had one of the best pictures I have ever taken.

The photo was of a grade school girl about my son’s age. She was on South Shore Drive tying a balloon to here mailbox.

The balloon and its string is almost perfectly aligned with the angle of the girl.

The house now has a "For Rent" sign in front of it.

The photographs, of course, can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Labels: Dole Avenue, Jogging, Running, UMM, United Methodist Men