Lake of Ale (St. Bride's Church) Traditional Cache
offline.cacher: The general rule reviewers use to archive a cache is that the cache owner has been notified (through a log entry) by the reviewer and that no response has been forthcoming. This is the case with this cache. As a result it has been archived.
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offline.cacher
Virginia geocaching.com reviewer
Lake of Ale (St. Bride's Church)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Lake of Ale (St. Bride's)
I long for a great lake of ale
I long for the meats of belief and pure piety
I long for flails of penance at my house
I long for them to have barrels full of peace
I long to give away jars full of love
I long for them to have cellars full of mercy
I long for cheerfulness to be in their drinking
I long for Jesus too to be there among them.
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This poem is ascribed to St. Bridget (also known as St. Bride of Kildare). Born in 453, shortly after St. Patrick's birth, she was the daughter of an Irish prince and a druidic slave. St. Bride gave away so many of her father's possessions that he eventually let her follow her calling and enter the religious life. She settled with seven other nuns and founded a convent in Kildare. The convent developed into a centre of learning & spirituality, famed for its illuminated manuscripts. St. Bride died Feb. 1, 525 and was buried with St. Patrick. This date is celebrated as the Feast of St. Bride and it is customary to carry on her tradition of sharing one's bounty with the poor.
St. Bride's Episcopal Church, where this cache is located, was established in 1761. It was originally located in the southern part of Chesapeake, near the North Carolina state line. Tradition holds that the members of Clan Duncan, living in the area, chose the name St. Bride's in honor of their patron saint. During the American Revolution the parish fell on hard times and became non-existent. No Episcopal services were held in the parish until after the Civil War. In 1870 land was given for a church (St. Paul's) to be built in Berkley. In 1887 a second church, St. Thomas, was started in the same area. For the next 36 years, these two churches served Berkley. In 1923 St. Paul's & St. Thomas merged and relocated to a new site. The new church was given the name St. Bride's. In 1954 under the leadership of the fourth Rector, William C. Hoffman, the parish became High Church (Anglo-Catholic) in orientation. In 1960, St. Bride's purchased land in Norfolk County (now the City of Chesapeake), and relocated to this spot. A modern church was built and enough land was acquired to ensure the ability to grow. It was hoped (at the time St. Bride's, along with a Lutheran and Baptist Church relocated to this area) that Sparrow Rd would develop into a 4 lane major thoroughfare with a bridge linking it to Norfolk. But even the longest piles available for the bridge kept sinking into the substructure, making plans for the bridge unfeasible. Hence this area remained a quiet residential neighborhood.
This cache is a small tupperware container with items for trade. Permission to geocache on the grounds has been given by the Rector (Stephen Powers) and Vestry. You may disregard any "No Trespassing Signs" you may spot.
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Treasures
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