weekend notes/ "Der Lutheraner" as esoteric reading?

It's been cold, snowy and icy, poor driving conditions.

Someone brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I think I know I what it's for.  Thank you, dear.  It has white lilies and white roses in it among other lovelies.  I'll take a picture of it, that way it will last longer.

Spoke with a friend after service on Sunday, who thought my reading of Walther, Wyneken and the Lutheraner was "esoteric".  I told him I thought not.  It seems to me highly relevant background.  He suggested a bunch of books for me, which I am surprised I haven't  heard of.   I might borrow them from him, for at least surveying.  I might also "lend" him some of mine.

I did read one edition of the Lutheraner all the way through, the one for January 15, 1872.  It contained a sermon for the opening session of the synod convention at Altenburg, Perry Co., MO, held May 3, 1871. I am happy to see that such an address would be printed off for everyone.  I've never seen such a thing happen.  Now we have simulcasting and videotaping, but really the convention addresses could just have been printed off in the Canadian Lutheran.  Der Lutheraner came out on the first and the fifteenth of the month.  That is quite frequently.  Surely that helped getting and keeping everyone on the same denominator.  All that without the internet.

The sermon by C.F.W.W, surely that is Walther, was very stirring, recalling details of the difficulties of thirty years previous, including the bodily and spiritual sufferings of the beginning period.  It dealt with Hebrews 13:9  "Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.  It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace...".  It laid again a firm foundation of the teaching Gospel for the church and the individual heart, all by God's grace. 

Then there was a portion of the life of Johann Gerhard, written by Fischer, sent in by someone else.  This seems to be a regular series of book excerpts.

Then there was a thing that people from Dresden sent in to their territorial churches.

Then there was a church "chronic", listing a variety of newsworthy items.

At the end, you find a list of monies that were sent in by which congregations for which works, such as orphanages, support of preacher's and teacher's widows and orphans, and missions.  Quite some detail.  I'm thinking maybe we could do with such detail, also.