×

Elza was more than a sower of seeds

The parable of “The Sower of Seeds” helps me to understand the enigma of Roger Elza’s life. His puzzling personality and various interests had an impact on many local people and on everything he planted. All his life he was a gardener, but he did many other things to help people along his way.

When I first met Roger c. 1996, he had been taking care of the yard for my parents for some years, and he continued to work here until not long before he died. In those days he was a weekend warrior serving as a Civil War reenactor who marched with a Confederate unit that came to the Rich Mountain Battlefield for the summer programs. He wanted young people to know more about their heritage, but he never had any sort of racial prejudice that I could see.

During the early years of this new century, Roger started playing religious music in church and soon he became interested in spreading the word of God. When he felt the call to the ministry, he went to the eastern panhandle to take courses in order to become an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren. Each week for 12 years he drove to a small church in Glady with his wife Sharon, and they both gave much effort to increase the size of that congregation and to improve the building. However, the effects of Roger’s ministry reached well beyond that church

During all his years of Christian service, Roger continued to cut grass for us and for many other families including the Fisher, Gross, Maxwel, and Wiest families. Roger also helped at Kump Education Center, and often he would lead the Community Correction workers when they were doing local service instead of incarceration. He did not try to force these people to accept his religion, but he supported them in learning how to work with plants and fix the fences. His kindness had a positive impact on individuals who had been taking and dealing drugs.

Roger understood that he had to prepare the ground before he planted anything and that he would need to wait for the plants to take hold within nature’s appointed time.

Roger always dug a huge hole when he planted a tree, so the roots would have lots of room. When he worked with troubled youth, he gave them space where their self-esteem could grow. His expectations were reasonable, and he encouraged them to decide the goals they wanted to achieve each day. He was respectful of the fact that they needed to become responsible for themselves.

The parable of the sower tells us, “A sower went out to sow new seeds. Some seeds fell by the roadside and birds ate them. Some seeds landed on rocks where there was no soil for roots to take hold. Still other seeds fell amongst the weeds, and they were choked out…. Other seeds fell on good ground where they grew and brought forth fruits.”

In this parable about spreading seeds of faith, the sower does not make any effort to prepare the soil or dig big holes where plants have room to grow. However, Roger knew that gardeners and preachers need to think about creating a nurturing environment where seeds will grow.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today