Good Shepherd Sermons & Blogs
The church geocache is back! Wait … what’s a geocache?
by Deb Smith
A geocache is a hidden container that people find using GPS coordinates on a GPS device, or on their phones using the Geocaching app. There are millions of geocaches all over the world, and Good Shepherd's is as close as the parking lot!
The Good Shepherd geocache, “Asperges,” is an altered sprinkler head that was first placed by “51 Capitals,” our own Alisa Johnson, several years ago near the street power pole in the lower parking lot. It was very popular, bringing many geocachers to sign the paper log inside, then log their visit online. However, it kept disappearing and was expensive and time-consuming to replace. Eventually Alisa just didn’t replace the container, and she archived the cache.
Just before Easter in 2021, and with a nod to Alisa, I published "Asperges - Resurrected,” this time reborn as wheelchair-accessible and with a slightly different description:
The original Asperges, GC5DG5J, was nearby. This redux and its placement on private property are done with permission. Park & Grab. Please seek during daylight hours and be respectful of the property. No need to disturb any plants. BYOP.
Asperges, from the Latin aspergÅ (“to sprinkle”), is a Christian tradition of sprinkling the congregation with holy water as a remembrance of baptism and in renewal of baptismal promises. At this location, it is usually the children who sprinkle the rest of the congregation amid lots of laughter.
The word should not be confused with Asperger's, asparagus, or Aspergillales.
Our geocache brings geocachers to our upper parking lot and serves as an introduction to our beautiful church and its well-kept grounds. You are invited to find it, sign the log, and then replace it for the next person to find.
The geocache page for this hide is https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC97DQZ. For more information about geocaching, talk to Alisa Johnson (“51 Capitals”) or Deb Smith (“RxGal”), or go to https://www.geocaching.com.
