Early Influences… Because his dad was a pastor, Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) spent much time in church while growing up. Seeing devoted worship-ers had a great impact on the future physician, theologian and Nobel Peace Prize winner. “From the services in which I participated as a child, I took with me into life a feeling for the solemn and the need for stillness,” Schweitzer said. On the first Sunday of every month, his father spoke about missionar-ies, and Schweitzer later became a medical missionary.
Interestingly, Protestant and Catholic congregations shared the church in Schweitzer’s small town in Alsace (which shifted between German and French control). The groups met in different areas of the church at different times on Sundays. That attitude of religious tolerance led to Schweitzer’s belief that Christians should work toward unity of faith and purpose.
