A Word from Pastor Nathan

Following the “What ’s in a Name?” sermon a few weeks ago, Sandy Rieth emailed me and said, “I smile every time I write ‘Elyria.’ It reminds me that God is in Elyria. It may not be exactly how it would be taught in seminary, but it works for me.”

Sandy was onto something, and she didn’t even know it! Honestly, neither did I, but with the tools forged in seminary, I did a little digging and found that Sandy was right on the money in more ways than one: God is in Elyria.

Ely, of course, is the surname of Heman Ely, our town’s founder. Ely is the English derivative of the Hebrew “Eli.” If we take a quick look at the Hebrew Bible, Eli was a significant character. He was the chief priest, and the mentor for Samuel. Second, we see the name Eli as a prefix for other biblical characters like Elizabeth and Elijah, just two names that come to mind. Third, when Jesus makes the cry of dereliction at the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” he is quoting Psalm 22:1, which begins, “Eli, Eli…” So, Eli literally translates as “my God.”

When Elyria was settled, the founders tagged on the -ria suffix to the Ely name. With a little curiosity and the help of Google, I discovered that -ria is “a long, narrow inlet of a river that gradually decreases in depth from mouth to head.” That’s very fitting, given the Black River. When you put ELI(Y) and RIA together, you could claim (and have very good evidence to back it up) that Elyria translates as “My God’s river” or “The River of my God.” Sandy is correct; God is in Elyria.

Unfortunately, I do not know much about Heman Ely’s faith or if he knew about the etymology of his name. However, we now know who and what is in the name of our city. As Sandy told me, God is in Elyria, and that’s good news for all Elyrians.

Peace abundant,