The "Pomeyrol Community" is a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...

founded in 1950 in Pomeyrol, in the commune of

Saint-Étienne-du-Grès Saint-Étienne-du-Grès (; Provençal: ''Sant Estève dau Gres'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. The commune was created in 1935 from part of Tarascon. It is si ...

( Bouches du Rhône). The sisters of Pomeyrol are mainly dedicated to prayer and host spiritual, festive or theological retreats. This community of

deaconesses The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek ...

, recognized as a religious community by the

Reformed Church of France The Reformed Church of France (, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in France to ...

in 1953, is inspired by the movement of the " Third Order of the Watchers ", launched by pastor Wilfred Monod, and by

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

History

The creation of this community is due to Antoinette Butte (1898-1986), a committed French lay Protestant, leader of the French Women Scouts Federation from 1916 onwards, where she encouraged spiritual practice. In 1929, she opened a spiritual retreat centre in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

and then, in 1937, the French Pastors Association asked her to take care of a house for spiritual retreats and meetings in Pomeyrol. During

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the occupation of France and the commandeering of the house of Saint-Germain en Laye by the Germans caused the community to regroup in Pomeyrol. It opened its door widely to numerous meetings of pastorals, catechetics, and adult movements, as well as to many refugees and fugitives. It is within this framework that the "Theses of Pomeyrol", one of the first acts of spiritual resistance to Nazism in France, were developed in 1941. The place was requisitioned in February 1944, ransacked, used by the

French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (FFI; ) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as F ...

and then as a camp. It was only recovered, badly damaged, in 1946 and gradually restored with the support of

Marc Boegner Marc Boegner, commonly known as ''pasteur'' Boegner (; 21 February 1881 – 18 December 1970), was a French theologian, pastor, essayist, notable member of the French Resistance and a notable voice in the ecumenical movement. Biography Marc B ...

, the president of the

Protestant Federation of France The Protestant Federation of France (''Fédération protestante de France'') is a religious organisation created on 25 October 1905, which united the main Protestant Christian groupings in France. In 2023, the current president is Christian Krie ...

. Then, in 1950, Antoinette Butte founded the Pomeyrol Community, a women's religious order dedicated to prayer, and she remained in charge as their prioress until her retirement in 1975. In November 1951, the three residents of the community dedicated themselves to each other and to the community for life at a hand laying ceremony. In 1955, a fourth sister took her solemn vows in the presence of the Regional President of the Reformed Church of France. Shortly afterwards, two sisters ensured, for three winters, a presence at the heart of the fighting theatre in Algeria.Cahiers de Pomeyrol n° 8, Re-issue of n° 6/1977 of "Faith and Life", pages 74 to 78 In 1953, the Regional Council of the Reformed Church of France officially recognized the Religious Community of Pomeyrol.

Philosophy

The Sisters of Pomeyrol dedicate themselves to the ministry of

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

, and thus to being "sentinels", "watchers" in the Church and for the world. They follow the

Rule of Saint Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of th ...

. From its beginnings in Saint-Germain en Laye, the Community had lived an experience of faith. They prayed for the needed money and it came either from participants or from other donors. The philosophy developed by the community from 1950 onwards was "to live above all an openness to God, in prayer and in

silence Silence is the absence of ambient hearing, audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low sound intensity, intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be exten ...

". A motto displayed by the community is: "God leads, prayer broods, people work." The community does not make strategies or plans, it believes that it is God who acts through men and women. "Do not seek to do good, be in God; and good will just fall off your life as mature fruit falls off the tree." Finally, the fact of being a small community of women is reflected by the Community of Pomeyrol in this expression of their calling: "The essential role of a small community of women is to be a matrix; it is a living cell that transmits life."

Activities

The activities of the Pomeyrol community have developed organically and spontaneously from the initial "matrix": * Celebrations: in addition to the Sunday Protestant church service, the community celebrates with fervour the festivals of the Christian liturgical year, which attract many Christians from the region, both Protestant and Catholic. Parishes all over France call on the community to lead prayer vigils, retreats or preaching. * Participation in the life of the church: the sisters hold positions in the local or regional

United Protestant Church of France The United Protestant Church of France () is the main and largest Protestant church in France, created in 2013 through the unification of the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France. It is active in all parts of ...

: Elder of the neighbouring Protestant parish of Beaucaire, catechism instructor, member of the Regional Ecumenical Commission, member of the Regional Commission for Evangelisation. * Retreats: The Pomeyrol community is very successful in its retreats that bring together people of all faiths. It offers a place of renewal or work to those who need serenity or who are looking for the direction to give their lives. *

Ecumenism Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

: Pomeyrol is located in Catholic

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

not far from the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

part of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

. It practices ecumenism actively. * Local animation: the neighbouring village is in close contact with the community. It benefits from the services of the sisters for visits and care. Deep friendships have been sealed. Donations in kind, sometimes generous, help people to live. * "

Third order The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the goo ...

": the Community has shared its values and practices with a wider circle of more than a hundred men and women called "companions" who practice the spirituality of Pomeyrol in their family and professional environment. Their commitment is to detach themselves from their "selves" in order to dedicate their lives to God and to commit themselves concretely in the service of the Church and the spirituality of the Community, in the spirit of the

Beatitudes The Beatitudes () are blessings recounted by Jesus in Matthew 5:3–10 within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings. In ...

. The discipline of "companions" commits them to practice daily meditation accompanied by the recitation of the Beatitudes or the Epistle on Love, to consecrate tithes to God and to make an annual retreat in a Christian community.

Governance

The sisters elect their prioress when it is time for her to retire. Thus, on February 17, 2019, after a year-long discernment process, Sister Martha Elisabeth was elected by the nine sisters currently in the community to succeed Sister Danièle, who had been the prioress of the community for 26 years. Thanks to the maturation process which was followed, the 9 sisters voted unanimously for this sister of Swiss origin. The transfer of powers was made in the presence of Emmanuelle Seyboldt, president of the

of which the community of Pomeyrol is a full member.

Notes

Bibliography

* Pierre Bolle, "Antoinette Butte, les Éclaireuses et l'Évangile", Gérard Cholvy, Bernard Comte, Vincent Feroldi,''Jeunesses chrétiennes au XX^e siècle'', Paris, Éditions ouvrières, 1991, * Pierre Bolle and

Patrick Cabanel Patrick Cabanel (born 22 February 1961) is a French historian, director of studies at the École pratique des hautes études and holder of the chair in ''Histoire et sociologie des protestantismes''. He mainly writes on the history of religious mi ...

, "Antoinette Butte", in Patrick Cabanel and

André Encrevé André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

(dir.),''Dictionnaire biographique des protestants français de 1787 à nos jours'', volume 1: A-C, Les Éditions de Paris Max Chaleil, Paris, 2015, * Michel Clément,''Un monachisme protestant ? Spiritualités et règles de trois communautés protestantes en France : Reuilly, Pomeyrol, Villeméjane'' (''A Protestant monasticism? Spiritualities and rules of three Protestant communities in France: Reuilly, Pomeyrol, Villeméjane''), Paris, 2012, 156 p
see online
* {{in lang, fr Nathalie Duval, "Le scoutisme pour "sortir de chez elles": la Fédération française des éclaireuses et la promotion féminine (1921-1964)", "Bulletin de la Société de l'histoire du protestantisme français", t. 161/1, 2015, p. 109-133

External links

(in French) Protestant convents Bouches-du-Rhône Christian women's organizations Christianity and women History of Protestantism in France