Later Work
With the mouthpiece of the journal Christ Seul, Widmer brought articles about peace and social justice into the homes of thousands of French Mennonites. Widmer published Pages Choisies de Pierre Sommer (selected writings of Pierre Sommer) upon his father-in-law's death in 1952, in which he emphasizes Sommer's commitment to peace. Widmer was part of a committee of French Mennonites which, with the help of General Neyhauser, unsuccessfully petitioned successive French governments from 1949 onward to allow the creation of civic service as an alternative to obligatory military service. He also fostered an opening of the French Mennonite church to other denominations. He was the elder member of the Mennonite committee to the Lutheran-Mennonite dialogues of 1981-84. He did not hesitate to propose joint activities with other churches, such as the creation of the Evangelical Seminary at Vaux-sur-Seine.
But Widmer was also conscious of preserving a distinctive Mennonite identity, even as the church embraced fellow Christians. His book Ce que croient les Mennonites (What Mennonites Believe), published in 1981 during the Lutheran-Mennonite dialogues, is an affirmation of the core beliefs of the church, including a commitment to peace and service. Widmer also wrote Il y a des gens qui vous troublent (There are those that trouble you) in 1984 in which he defended traditional Mennonite beliefs against the influences of Pentecostal and charismatic movements.
Read more about this topic: Pierre Widmer
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