Photo of a portion of art glass windows at First United Methodist Church of Hurst. Photo by Randy Jennings.
If you ever find yourself in Hurst, Texas, stop in and take a look at the beautiful art glass windows at First United Methodist Church of Hurst. The main window of Jesus and the two large round windows depicting the Last Supper and Pentecost are a sight to behold, but the one that always draws me is found as you walk from the Wesley building into the narthex. In the lower right corner of one of the panels is a mouse. I’ll save you the trouble of searching your favorite Bible app. The Bible only has a single reference to a mouse and only four to mice. But these passages in Leviticus and Samuel are not why a mouse appears in this window.
Mouse and Minister
The late Rev. Henry Radde Sr. tells a story with Squeaky the Mouse. (Photo Courtesy of Forest Ridge Funeral Home, https://www.forestridge-fh.com/obituary/Henry-RaddeSr)
To solve this mystery ask someone to show you where the portraits of the former senior pastors are hung. One of them will stand out to you as different from the rest. That is the one of Rev. Henry Radde Sr. and Squeaky. Squeaky was never appointed by the Bishop to First Hurst, but Squeaky was Henry’s right hand partner in ministry and co-pastor with Henry. Henry was a ventriloquist and Squeaky was his stocking cap wearing church mouse puppet that made appearances at every children’s time and even a few hospital visits with the church’s adult members. Everything I every needed to know about God I learned from Squeaky.
Squeaky – like us – was often confused by the scripture of the day. Henry would explain it to him and us. I don’t know how Henry ever preached after Squeaky. Squeaky was a tough act to follow. I can’t recall the point of any of those children’s sermons I heard growing up at First Hurst, but I will never forget how Squeaky led the congregation in a responsive prayer each week with “Dear God, Thank you for loving us”.
As I’ve gotten older I have come to realize how much Squeaky’s prayer has impacted my life and theology. So many Christians go through life, to borrow a lyric from Stephen Sondheim, believing we “serve a dark and a vengeful God”. Those of us who had the pleasure of knowing Henry and Squeaky know better. We understand that when bad things happen it isn’t God punishing us for sin and it certainly isn’t God’s will. Understanding that God loves us – all of us – removes barriers and allows us to have a closer relationship with God.
Last fall I mentioned to one of the pastors at the church I attend now about how much Henry and Squeaky had impacted my theology and views on life. She asked me if I had ever told Henry that. I told her that I hadn’t and she suggested that I write Henry a note. “It would mean a lot to him,” she told me. Sadly I never got around to that before I lost the opportunity. Henry went home to God on Sunday March 26, 2023 at the age of 85.
On the Friday before Palm Sunday 2023, I attended Henry’s memorial service at First Hurst. I managed to hold myself together until the part in the message where the pastor read a note from Squeaky. It started out “this past Sunday I lost my voice”. No Squeaky you didn’t lose your voice. Your voice lives on in the lives of us lucky to have known you and Henry. So to Henry and Squeaky, goodbye for now and thank you for sharing the message of God’s love for us.
Randy Jennings
Randy Jennings is a lifelong United Methodist having grown up at First United Methodist Church of Hurst. He has called First United Methodist Church Plano home since 2001.