Workshop leader: John Eichrodt

Note: This workshop will last all afternoon and extend through both workshop sessions. Participants will return to the retreat center at 5:30 pm.

The workshop is intended to be in the form of a pilgrimage to Albert Schweitzer’s home. It takes place on the 70th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize award to Albert Schweitzer in 1952.

Albert Schweitzer was considered a Unitarian by many. His philosophy, ethics and theology on reverence for life are echoed forcefully in our own UU principles. His life and engagement have been an inspiration for UUs for almost a century. So, our pilgrimage should enable us to revisit the sources of our own spiritual motivation and to reconnect with our own engagement for peace.

We will visit his home and museum in Gunsbach, study a documentary overview of his life and work, and attempt to discover and discuss some of the main issues he struggled with during his life that may still be relevant to the current world crisis. We are fortunate to be accompanied by two passionate guides coming from Strasbourg.

Place: Albert Schweitzer’s Home and Center at Gunsbach. It is 25 minutes by car from the retreat center.

Date and Time: Saturday, October 29, 2022. 2:30 until 5:30 pm.

Participants: Maximum 20.

• Contribution: voluntary (indicatively 10 euros to help pay for the guides, seminar room and home visit)
• About 4 volunteer drivers are needed to transport the participants to the Center in Gunsbach
• Departure: 2:30 pm in front of our retreat center. Address: 8 Rue de Munster, 68140 Gunsbach, Tel 03 89 77 31 42

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John Eichrodt, like many UUs, has looked to Schweitzer’s life and thought for inspiration and guidance during much of his own life. He discovered Albert Schweitzer while he served in the Peace Corps in Togo, Africa. There, he worked with Dr. Lindner, who had been in Schweitzer’s team of doctors at Lambaréné.