Khaled and Djedjiga Hassani see God at work in the renovation of a dilapidated former monastery.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
MARSEILLE, France — A stained-glass chapel — a symbol of institutional religion — anchors one end of the Betheline.
At the other end, friends and strangers alike find a “house church.”
That’s how missionary Craig Young describes the informal welcoming presence of Khaled and Djedjiga Hassani, the former monastery’s caretakers.
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“The door is always open, the coffee is always hot, and lives are always being touched,” Young said of the immigrant couple’s simple living quarters, where a small needlepoint portrait of Jesus hangs on the wall.
“There’s hospitality as a word,” the missionary added, “and then there’s what they do, which is a different level.”
On a recent morning, the former Muslims served a Kabyle omelet — a sweet, spongy cake made with eggs, flour and baking powder — as they welcomed a small group of visiting American church members.
While offering cups of tea and coffee, the hosts invited the guests to drizzle honey on the omelet and spread fig jam — homemade from trees on the Betheline grounds — on bread.
As Marseille’s Chapelle de Fuveau Church of Christ works to transform the dilapidated former monastery into a Christian outreach center, the Hassanis provide a mix of physical labor and spiritual encouragement.
This story appears in the December print edition of The Christian Chronicle.
Photo by Sherri Herndon
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