The Congo Multi-Cache

This is a two-part multi-cache.
The two stages are NOT within
walking distance of each other!

BACKGROUND

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. Many Congregational churches trace their descent from the original Congregational Church, a family of Protestant denominations formed on a theory of union published by the theologian Robert Browne in 1592 and arising from the Nonconformist religious movement in England during the Puritan reformation. In Great Britain, the early congregationalists were called separatists or independents to distinguish themselves from the similarly Calvinistic Presbyterians, and some congregationalists there still call themselves "Independents".

There are difficulties in identifying a specific beginning because Congregationalism is more easily identified as a movement than a single denomination, given its distinguishing commitment to the complete autonomy of the local congregation. The idea that each distinct congregation fully constitutes the visible Church can, however, be traced to John Wyclif and the Lollard movement which followed after Wyclif was removed from teaching authority in the Roman Catholic Church. The early Congregationalists shared with Anabaptist theology the ideal of a pure church, which made adult conversion experience important for full membership in the church, unlike other Reformed churches. As such, the Congregationalists were a reciprocal influence on the Baptists, differing from them in that they counted the children of believers in some sense members of the church unlike the Baptists, because of baptism.

In the United States, Congregationalists include the Pilgrims of Plymouth and the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which were organized in union by the Cambridge Platform in 1648. These settlers had John Cotton as their most influential leader, beginning in 1633. Cotton's writings persuaded the Calvinist theologian John Owen to separate from the Presbyterian church, after which he became very influential in the development of Congregationalist theology and ideas of church government. Jonathan Edwards, considered by some to be the most important theologian ever produced in America, was also a Congregationalist.

The history of Congregational churches in the United States is closely intertwined with that of the Presbyterian church, especially in New England where Congregationalist influence spilled over into the Presbyterian church. The first colleges and universities in America, including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Williams, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Amherst, all were founded by the Congregationalists, as were later Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, and Pomona.

Without higher courts to ensure doctrinal uniformity among the congregations, Congregationalists have been more diverse than other Reformed churches. Despite the efforts of Calvinists to maintain the dominance of their system, the Congregationalist churches, especially in New England, gradually gave way to the influences of Arminianism, Unitarianism, and transcendentalism. Thus, the Congregationalist churches were at the same time the first example of the American theocratic ideal and also the seed-bed from which American liberal religion and society arose. Even still, many Congregationalist (and now UCC) Christians consider themselves to be Reformed first.

Stage 1 -

Go to the listed coordinates for this cache. Nearby you will find a historical marker providing some information about the very first Congregational Church in Memphis and the state of Tennessee. You will need the information located on the marker in order to determine the coordinates for the final stage of this cache.

1. Find out who designed the building mentioned on the marker and find the year he was born. _______________ Take the last three digits of that year and subtract the number 729 from that three digit number. ______________The resulting three digit number is the last 3 digits of the latitude coordinates for the final stage of this multi cache. Plug those three digits into this formula.

N 35° 07.0__________

2. Find the year when was this church founded [ _____________ ] and subtract that number from the year the designer of this classical modified Ionic building actually design the building [ ____________ ]. Hang on to that number: _______________
   
   
3. For the next numbers you will be finding the year requested and taking the LAST TWO DIGITS for use in the calculations. Here are the years to find:
   
   
   1. The year the building designer died. The last two digits are __________
      
      
   2. The year this building entered the NRHP. The last two digits are ________
      
      
   3. The year this sign was erected. The last two digits are _________
      
      
   4. The year this first church was organized. The last two digits are _________
      
      
4. Take all of those numbers you just found in #3 and ADD them to each other. That number is ___________
   
   
5. Add the number from # 2 to the number in #4. ADD 65 to that number. Write that number here: ______________ That three digit number number is the last three digits of the longitude. Plug them in below:

W 089° 59.__________

Final Stage -

Using the coordinates you calculated in Stage 1 of this cache, proceed to the location of the cache. This is a pretty easy "Park and Grab" depending upon the the time of day and the day of the week. Be stealthy and don't get busted! Bring your own pencil.

I hope you enjoyed the hunt and learning a little bit about the Congregational Church.

Kid Friendly Less than 500 ft. from car to cache Beware of Muggles! Geocachers of West Tennessee

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