Connected to Peace Week Experiences

Sunday, September 25,2016

The 10th annual Interfaith Youth Tour hosted by the Oklahoma Conference of Churches was a great experience.  Over 400 teens and adult youth group teens, sponsors and parents from the greater OKC community, Bethany, and Edmond participated.  Dr. Tabernee reminded participants that the first Interfaith Youth Tour had at most 35 participants. Saint Paul's Episcopal Youth Group The first stop was the East 6th Street Christian Church, a historically black church of the Disciples of Christ. At the church, participants were treated to a rousing call for tolerance, social justice, and diversity by Pastor Jesse Jackson (no, not THAT Jesse Jackson), and a beautiful presentation from their musical director.   The second stop was the newest building for the Masjid Mu'min Mosque, still under construction.  The new Masjid Mu'min Mosque is located next door to the oldest Mosque in Oklahoma City, which was the first mosque in OKC and had the uniqueness of being an Afro-American mosque. Hosts explained that originally a Nation of Islam community, the mosque membership transitioned in the seventies towards mainstream Sunni Islam.  They taught participants about the African-American take on Islam, the five Pillars of Islam, and about the future of this community. At the Mosque, participants had water and cookies and found out that one of the famous visitors to the mosque was Mohammad Ali.     Interfaith Youth Tour at Msjid Mu'min Mosque...under construction! The trip ended at Vien-Gîac Buddhist Temple, the Mahayana temple of the Vietnamese community in OKC.    After a snack sharing time and an explanation of a Mother's Day tradition at the Temple Community gathering area, participants were ushered  inside the temple.   A resident monk started the tour with a small meditation time.  Then,  he shared a Dhamma talk, the 5 tenants of Buddhism, and explain some of the temple icons.   The tour ended by their youth group facilitating to a tour of their beautiful grounds.    Saturday, September 24,  #Oklahoma Standard Morning, OKC Peace Walk @ Turkish Festival Anthony Shadid- An Oklahoma Standard Ambassador.  Once an Oklahoma Teen just like the teens who attended the morning at the Museum as part of Peace Week 2016 Service-Learning Program Activities....An OKC entrepreneur of peace and social change. The morning started with an Oklahoma Standard tour of the Memorial by our very special park ranger, Dan Mckee.   A guided tour of the museum by Patrick,   followed.   The tour of the museum ended with a memorable story time from survivor Derek Smithee who inspired us to be Oklahoma Standard Ambassadors in our daily interactions with each other and our local and global community.  Service Learning in collaboration with the Museum Store provided Casady teens with an Oklahoma Standard t-shirt and bracelet. During the reflective lunch with our hosts, Cyclones found out from our tour guide, Patrick, that Enis Kanter, Thunder basketball player was the official honorary chair of the Turkish Festival and OKC Peace Walk 2016.  Patrick stated that Enis was an Oklahoma standard ambassador because he has taken great personal risks speaking against the violence in Turkey.  His family is still in Turkey and they are against the oppressive regime in power. United Nations International Day of Peace Awareness Walk at Turkish Festival 2016 At 1:15 pm, the Casady group walked to the Myriad Gardens where they planted Casady pinwheels providing the route of the very short United Nations First Peace Walk during the Turkish Festival.  Cyclones had time to visit the Turkish Festival booths and received an autograph picture of Enis Kanter. Mrs. Hazel Lopez, Lower Division "Manitos de Paz" were distributed to the participants of the festival before the OKC Peace Walk in celebration of the International Day of Peace, a day that calls for cease fire and to stop domestic violence around the globe.