On Saturday, November 1 at noon, there will be a fundraising event at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church titled “A Taste of Tunisia” that combines a meal, music, the visual arts, and a short talk. This program is in part inspired by Dr. Reverend Mother Aloha Smith’s interest in the theologians from North Africa who played a key role in the history of the Christian church. This event also draws on the knowledge and talents of Monia Jerad, a retired translator for the U.S. State Department. Monia is also the co-director, with a Tryon resident, of a foundation that has engaged in small-scale humanitarian and educational projects in Tunisia for the past eleven years, and that is named in honor of her late sister, Dr. Nabiha Jerad, once a professor at the University of Tunis.
The program features highlights from Tunisia’s rich history beginning with the culture of the Berbers, and touches on topics that include: the contributions of the two-thousand-year-old Jewish community in Djerba; the legends surrounding the founding of Carthage by Dido of Tyre; the contributions of the Church Fathers who hail from Tunisia, and who had to endure exceptionally turbulent times but managed to produce lasting works on Christian spirituality; the Arab Enlightenment that occurred in Tunisia thanks to writers like Ibn Khaldun; the varied phases of Turkish and European rule that occurred until decolonization in 1956. Emphasizing the mosaic-like quality of the country, the remarks will conclude with Tunisia’s role in initiating the events referred to as the “Arab Spring” or “Jasmine Revolution,” which later resulted in the Tunisian Quartet receiving the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its role in creating a new constitution, and also paving the way for parliamentary and presidential elections.
The talk will be punctuated by musical interludes by Sher Harris, a native of Spartanburg, who studied vocal performance at Converse College under Rebecca Turner. She has had numerous opera roles ranging from the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, to the evil stepsister in Cendrillon to Flosshilde in Das Rheingold. A repeat winner at NATS competitions during her life as a student, she has been a much appreciated performer at Good Shepherd’s concerts in 2024. Peter Kutt, who was the pianist with the Asheville Symphony for two decades before he turned his attention to chamber music, will be accompanying her, and will perform an arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie’s A Night in Tunisia for piano by Bill Boyd. Peter and Sher will perform Henry Purcell’s beautiful aria “Dido’s Lament,” and also three spirituals from the hymnal Lift Every Voice and Sing that speak of saints from Carthage: Saints Monica, Augustine and Cyprian.
The meal after the program will feature a variety of Tunisian salads and appetizers, a lamb dish as well as a vegetable tagine, and traditional desserts. There will also be a five-minute demo on how to make a healthy, easy salad with pumpkin or butternut squash.
The art exhibit in the church’s Homework Center will feature art by four Tunisian artists, including that of the late Hamadi Ben Saad, whose work has been shown at Converse University, at Wofford College, and at the former art gallery of the Hendersonville Arts Council. He has a mural on the wall of the U.N. building in Tunis, as well as in other civic buildings, and has work in many private collections in Europe and the U.S. The show will also feature work by three contemporary women artists: Olfa Jegham, Souad Chehibi and Ghalia Khadhar.
The church is located at 814 Markham Road in Tryon’s historic Eastside. Tickets can be obtained by calling 828 329-2217. The cost is $10 for congregants of Good Shepherd and $25 for the general public. The church wants anyone who is interested to come so a number of complimentary tickets are also available.