In Charente, the daring gamble of parishioners who launched an associative bar

“Who wants apple pie?” Lunch time is approaching, and the fifteen people seated at the elegant wooden tables or seated on the Fraternel sofas seem seduced by Albert’s appetizing proposition. Behind the bar, Murielle, bartender of the day, serves coffee, calling everyone by their first name. Above her, hanging on the wall, a wooden cross. And among the consumers, Benoît, parish priest.

This is because Le Fraternel is not an ordinary bar: inaugurated in 2023, the place was born at the initiative of a group of parishioners. Open to all, it offers a coffee on Tuesday and Saturday mornings, as well as multiple activities to promote social bonding: board game evenings, barbecues, sewing workshops, debates… And even preparation for the sacraments! “Meeting a couple who are preparing for marriage in a friendly place like this bar, rather than in the priest’s office, radically changes the tenor of the exchange,” assures Father Benoît. However, the regulars are not all parishioners. “It is not primarily a question of recruiting new faithful, but of offering another way of entering into contact with the team of parishioners,” explains the priest.

Links that last

The bar is located in a former parish hall, completely renovated thanks to a grant from the Notre-Dame Foundation*. Three years ago, it was therefore necessary to discuss, and convince those who were reluctant, of the relevance of the project. “I came to the information meeting to explain that it wouldn’t work; here I am, president of the association!” laughs Muriel. The structure she directs, legally independent from the parish, now has 200 members, including around fifteen volunteer bartenders who take turns to provide the service. This is the case for Alain, vice-president: “I like the links we create, sharing each other’s joys and sorrows. Friendships are formed that last beyond the bar.” A few months ago, Albert, left very alone after his widowhood, discovered the place. From now on, he is there every Tuesday morning.

*fondationnotredame.fr