I do not have everything together, 🙂 or I would have realized that the good reverend from yesterday, Nathaniel Biebert, has three books out, not one. One I already knew about without recognizing the name! Ah, names slip by me sometimes, but let’s be thankful for another chance to touch base with a Lutheran writer!
So Nathaniel Biebert is the translator behind Luther at the Manger: Christmas Sermons on Isaiah 9:6! That’s GREAT! Luther on Christmas is absolutely stellar. No doubt about it.
Rev. Biebert’s other book, in addition to Luther at the Manger and his translation of Heaven Is My Fatherland: The Life and Work of Michael Praetorius that I blogged about yesterday is Sacred Storytelling: The Autobiography of Johannes Strieter. That sure sounds promising, too!
So I contacted Rev. Biebert to find out a little more. Basically, Sacred Storytelling is a translation of an LCMS pastor’s autobiography plus appendices of related sources. Rev. Johannes Strieter (1829–1920) crossed path with significant fellow Lutherans at the time including August Crämer, Friedrich Wyneken, and C. F. W. Walther.
We’ll round off the description with an excerpt from the Amazon blurb:
Through [Rev. Streiter’s] recollections, we also encounter firsthand the Ojibwa, the Civil War, the establishment and founding of roads, cities, churches, and schools, and travel by sea, lake, river, canal, railroad, horseback, buggy, stagecoach, and on foot. We accompany him as he nearly kills his sister, is spared in a terrible accident, falls in love, navigates difficult pastoral situations and decisions, enjoys laughs with and at the expense of his friends, gets drafted into the Union Army, buries some of his children, watches his family grow, ministers to the troubled, misguided, sick, and dying, and finally retires to Michigan on account of deafness. Translated afresh from Strieter’s original manuscript and presented with twelve appendices to supplement his autobiography, Sacred Storytelling is a treasure trove of adventure, perspective, entertainment, courage, and conviction.
Sounds like this is a great find for those interested in American Lutheran history, outreach among the Native Americans, historical narratives, and insight into a Lutheran pastor’s life.
To see more of Rev. Biebert’s work, he keeps a translation blog called Red Brick Parsonage. I love the goal: “[Red Brick Parsonage] exists to offer fresh translations of Latin and German (and occasionally Greek) works that are of interest to confessional Lutherans. It also shares tips, tricks, and sources to aid Lutheran translators in expanding and expediting their work.” Music to my ears.
And, because I want non-proverbial music for all of your ears, too, be sure to read “Praetorius on the Effect and Value of Choral Church Music” and then listen to some Praetorius! 🙂
Good, good stuff!
