“The only thing of importance, when we depart, will be the traces of love we have left behind.” – Albert Schweitzer
Photo | Ringquist Collection
Annual Albert Schweitzer Day
In 2025 and 2026, Aspen Historical Society, Aspen Community Church, TACAW and other partners have presented Albert Schweitzer Days, a series of free events and the official declaration of “Albert Schweitzer Day” to commemorate Albert Schweitzer’s visit to Aspen for Goethe Bicentennial Convocation in 1949, as well as the German polymath’s 150th birthday.
Schweitzer was a philosopher, musician, physician, theologian, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient whose seminal visit to Aspen helped lay the foundation for the community’s growth as a hub of culture and humanistic ideas.
The two-day celebrations featured films, special organ performances, panel discussions, keynotes, and merriment in the spirit of Albert Schweitzer.
Watch previous events and explore more resources below.
Previous Event Recordings
2025 – Panel Discussion at the Wheeler/Stallard Museum
2026 – Harsh Mander Keynote at the Wheeler/Stallard Museum
Additional Resources
Investing our Humanity
In 2026, Aspen Journalism and Aspen Historical Society launched the English translation of “Investing Our Humanity” by Francis Guthleben and Jenny Litzelmann about contemporary humanitarians inspired by or on the same path as Albert Schweitzer, translated from the French.
Purchase the book at the Wheeler/Stallard Museum store or online from Explore Booksellers.
Previous Events
2025
Aspen Community Church (J.R. Atkins)
TACAW
Greg Poschman
Aspen One
Alchemy Charitable Foundation
Lachlan and Susan Forrow
2026
June 30 @ TACAW
Reverence for Life on the Streets: Medicine as a Moral Act in an Unequal World
Panelists:
- Moderator: Dr. Kaitlin Schwan, USC, Director, California Street Medicine Collaborative.
- Dr. James O’Connell, President Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, Asst Professor of Medicine, Harvard University.
- Dr. Jim Withers, Founder Operation Safety Net, Street Medicine Institute, CNN Hero.
- Harsh Mander, Human Rights and Peace worker, Nobel Prize nominee, former Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court of India and Indian Prime Minister’s National Advisory Council
For more information on the panelists and their work, please visit https://tacaw.org/calendar/equity-speaker-series-reverence-for-life-on-the-streets-medicine-as-a-moral-act-in-an-unequal-world/
July 1 – Albert Schweizter Day in Aspen
@ Aspen Community Church 200 E. Bleeker St., Aspen
“Schweitzer, the Organist”
Concert/Presentation by Dr. James Welch performing selected works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelsohn, Cesar Franck and Charles Widor
@ Wheeler/Stallard Museum 620 W. Bleeker St., Aspen
Complimentary Picnic Reception
Book Launch: Investing Our Humanity
with author Francis Guthleben and Christoph Wyss, Board President of The Albert Schweitzer Museum, Gunsbach, France
Keynote Address by Harsh Mander
Human Rights and Peace worker, Nobel Prize nominee, former Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court of India and Indian Prime Minister’s National Advisory Council
Partners and Supporters
2025
Aspen Community Church (J.R. Atkins)
TACAW
Greg Poschman
Aspen One
Alchemy Charitable Foundation
Lachlan and Susan Forrow
2026
Aspen Community Church (J.R. Atkins)
TACAW
Greg Poschman
Aspen Journalism (Curtis Wackerle, Laurine Lassalle)
Aspen Daily News (Kari Dequine and Megan Tackett)
Aspen Public Radio (Greg Albrecht)
Aspen One
Alchemy Charitable Foundation
Mary Conover and Kenyon Fields
The Aspen Institute (Todd Breyfogle)
Jennifer Elizabeth DuBrul
Erin Fernandez-Ely
Lachlan and Susan Forrow
Mark Harvey
Human Service Innovations (John Dougherty)
Tim Johnson
Amy Groom
Olivia Alford
Aspen Reprographics
Curt Carpenter
Kim Coates
Grass Roots TV (John Masters)
KDNK (Brian Colley and Marilyn Gleason)
Jenny Litzelman
Valerie Moore
Maureen Poschman
Simply Joy Catering
St. Moritz Lodge (Michael Behrendt)
Charlie Tarver
Andrew Travers
Robin Waters
Christoff Wyss
Toni Zurcher
John Kelly
Land Acknowledgement
We gratefully acknowledge we gather on the land of the Uncompahgre band of the Ute Nation, or Nuche, past and present. We honor this land and the people who lived in harmony with the natural world for generations before their forced removal. We are committed to sharing the complete history of the land, recognizing and partnering with Native Peoples, and supporting the advancement of Native places and heritage. This calls us all to be better stewards of the land we inhabit and the natural resources we benefit from today.