"One Song, Many Voices" was the theme for the BOK Center's Community Multi-Faith Celebration held on Sunday, August 31, 2008. The Celebration was part of the Grand Opening Festivities for the new BOK Center during Labor Day Weekend. Admission was free. The Celebration invited God's blessing upon the building, the activities it will host, and the impact it will have on the Tulsa community and beyond. The Celebration was an inclusive, upbeat event, with an emphasis on music and a performance by Sam Harris. A 500-voice community choir led by Rick Fortner highlighted of the program. OCCJ, along with several other interfaith organizations in the community, assisted with the planning of the celebration.  

Special events for OCCJ special anniversary included:

• 50th Anniversary Humanitarian Society Recognition and New Member Reception hosted by Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor (May 14).
• CommUNITY Concert featuring local musicians from various genres in cooperation with The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame (June 19).
• CommUNITY Film Festival in cooperation with The Circle Cinema (July 17 - 20).
• 15th Annual Anytown Oklahoma, OCCJ's award winning human relations and leadership camp for high school students (July 27 - August 2).
• "Finding Common Ground," a talk about understanding religious liberty in public schools, presented by nationally know expert, Oliver "Buzz" Thomas, at a Tulsa Press Club reception (August 21).
• "This I Believe" CommUNITY Essay Contest (Fall).
• "March Toward CommUNITY" celebrating OCCJ's half century of promoting understanding and respect (October 5). Event co-chairs: Jack Wing & Marc Delametter. 
• 50th Anniversary Annual Awards Dinner honoring the Tulsa World (November 6).

Yom Hashoah Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration: "Witness Among Us--Honoring Holocaust Survivors and their American Liberators," was the focus of the 2008 Interfaith Holocaust Commemoration, sponsored by Tulsa's Council for Holocaust Education. The Commemoration, consisting of a variety of programs, culminated on May 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Temple Israel with a talk featuring Robbie Wiseman, child survivor of the Holocaust, and Dr. Leon Bass, American soldier and liberator at Buchenwald. CCJ was a community co-sponsor of the event.

OCCJ is offering a new Leadership Roundtable for young professionals interested in the OCCJ mission--fighting bias, bigotry, and racism. At the core of this Leadership Rountable is honest diversity dialogue. The group will meet periodically to discuss mission-relevant topics and contemplate ways to further OCCJ's mission.

OCCJ celebrated is 50th Anniversary at an Annual Awards Dinner on November 6, 2008, at the new Bank of Oklahoma Arena in downtown Tulsa. The event honored the Tulsa World. 

Anytown, Oklahoma 2008 was held July 27 - August 2 at Camp Takatoka near Lake Ft. Gibson. Anytown promotes self-esteem, good citizenship, and leadership in an atmosphere steeped in rich diversity. Each year, incoming sophomores, juniors, and seniors are elibilble for this award-winning, statewide human relations camp. Based on evaluations from this year's delegates and staff (and those from the past), Anytown consistently ranks as a preeminent human relations experience, often characterized as a "life-changing" opportunity. The camp has made a difference in the lives of more than 700 teens since its inception in 1994. Contact the OCCJ office for additional information by calling 583-1361.