St. Franc & Claire's Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is a small tupperware. The log is little lavendar papers in a rubber band--no need to take it out of the rubber band, just lift up the sheets to sign the next one. It holds some small items. There are some cool little items in it to start it off, including a FTF geocoin! Not too far off I-75, whichever direction you are headed.
History of the Building/Grounds: Once Upon A Time, Appleton Episcopal Children's Home used to occupy the building at 423 Forest Hill Road. You can kind of see the bones of what was before--the pecan trees, the long hallways that connect the kitchen/eating area to the sleeping areas. There used to be tiny bathrooms in between what is now each Sunday school classroom. The hallways even now are quite cold in the winter and you can kind of empathize with how cold the children must have been walking to and from meals! Nor did they have air-conditioning--you know how hot it can get in summer! Martha Vivion ran the Appleton home for many years in the mid-1900's. The children would pick pecans in the fall and they also had a herd of cows. If you look at google-earth, you can see the shape of the building, which is, interestingly enough, in the shape of two crosses. Later, St. Francis Episcopal made this building and land its home. At St. Francis' website, the first words are "Welcome Home! No matter who you are, or where you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here." This is the true spirit of this beautiful land, space and church.
Why the name of the cache? Okay, here is a little more history....St. Francis Episcopal Church of Macon, Georgia, is named for one of its patron saints, (the other one is Saint Claire), Saint Francis of Assisi (1182 – 1228). Francis was the son of a wealthy merchant in the Italian village of Assisi. After a brief, unsuccessful military career, Francis found himself adrift. Encounters with beggars and lepers began his process of transformation. While praying before a crucifix at the ruins of San Damiano Church, Francis heard a voice say, “Francis, rebuild my church.” He took it literally and began begging for stones to rebuild San Damiano. People joined him, and his building project became a movement to reform the whole Christian Church. Francis traveled about Italy, begging, preaching, and being something of a Holy Fool, in his words “le jongleur de Dieu.” His style was that of the troubadours, but his love was for God and Lady Poverty. Francis suffered from his austere life and from illnesses, and on Holy Cross Day, 1228, while praying at Mt. LaVerna, he received the stigmata. Francis died at the age of 50 while on a preaching mission.
The other patron saint I briefly mentioned, Claire of Assisi (1194 – 1253) had a smooth life laid out for her. She was beautiful, rich, and popular. But she wasn’t interested in a smooth life. At the age of 18, she heard a sermon by Francis which led her to devote herself to Apostolic Poverty. She slipped out her window by night to meet Francis. Placing her jewelry and best dresses on the altar, she took her vows. Her family and friends tried to remove her from the convent by force, but she was adamant. She founded the women’s Franciscan Order, called “The Poor Ladies of San Damiano.”
It was Clare who urged Francis not to be a cloistered monk, but to take his message on the road – though she missed him so dreadfully that Francis’ followers chided him for neglecting her. She supported and inspired him all his life and mourned him at his death, saying “He was our pillar of strength, and after God, our one consolation and support.” When the male Franciscans abandoned Francis’ strict rules of detachment, Clare maintained the rigor of the women’s order. On her deathbed, Clare urged her followers to persist in love of “holy poverty” and gave them this blessing:
Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road.
Go forth without fear, for he that created you has sanctified you, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother.”
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vg vfa'g oheavat, fb lbh fubhyq or bxnl