Popular interfaith youth tour is going virtual
A tour that has attracted numerous youths from across the state and metro area is going virtual this year.
The Oklahoma Conference of Church's Interfaith Youth Tour will be 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 13, and organizers said they are capitalizing on the event's online aspect to broaden the scope of the tour.
Since its inception, the tour mostly has included houses of worship in the Oklahoma City metro area.
With distance and proximity no longer an issue, this year's tour will venture out beyond the metro area to showcase the Stillwater Mosque & Islamic Center and Vernon Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Tulsa's historic Greenwood District.
Two Oklahoma City houses of worship will round out the quartet featured in the tour:
Dharma Center of Oklahoma and Emanuel Synagogue.
For the past 13 years, the conference of churches has become known for the tour because of its popularity among middle and high school youths and their adult advisers.
The Rev. Robert Turner, senior pastor of Vernon AME Church, said he's excited to be able to educate more people about his historic church that was part of the flourishing Black community called Black Wall Street.
The structure's basement survived the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which destroyed Black Wall Street.
“Due to COVID-19 we understand that people aren't able to travel as they would like, but the need for the story about what happened in Tulsa during the race massacre of 1921 needs to be told and especially the individual stories of people and places such as Vernon,” Turner said.
“It's a beautiful church, it's the `Grandmother of Greenwood' whose basement survived the worst massacre in American history. So I'm thankful to be able to share that story especially with our young people of today who have not been taught it in schools.”
Meanwhile, the online aspect of the event also allows them to feature more houses of worship because the tour typically includes only three due to time and travel constraints.
Cost is $15 per participant, and the registration deadline is Sept. 13.
The registration fee will help the conference of churches with production costs and the organization's similar programs. Conference leaders said sponsorships are available.
For more information or to register, go to secure.qgiv.com/ for/2iyt/event/817941.