Four Major Black Denominations Plan Historic Joint Board Meeting
As many as 10,000 delegates from four major black Baptist denominations will gather in Nashville, Tenn., for the first joint board meeting since the churches divided 100 years ago.
As many as 10,000 delegates from four major black Baptist denominations will gather in Nashville, Tenn., for a historic joint board meeting, on January 24-27, 2005.
The gathering will mark the first time the National Baptist Convention USA, the National Baptist Convention of America, the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, will meet since the groups divided nearly 100 years ago.
According to the National Council of Churches USA (NCC), an ecumenical body of which all four denominations take part, the board meeting will attempt to “forge a unified voice to address social and political issues affecting all blacks.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
''There has to be more focused effort to include minorities in the mainstream of this nation's life in terms of ownership of economic resources, inclusion in the political structure, educational commitment, and changing the practices that make for the incarceration of so many people of color,” explained Dr. William J. Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention USA – the largest and oldest of the four denominations.
''It's going to be exciting,'' said Shaw.
Dr. Major L. Jemison, president of the Progressive Convention said he hopes unity will also be a focus of the gathering.
''We hope this convention will give us an element of unity we've never had before,” Jemison.
The Rev. George Brooks, head of the educational programs of the National Baptist Convention of America, agreed, saying, “'A lot of times we're talking about the same things but don't always know it because we're in four different settings.”
For more information or to register, visit: http://www.nationalbaptist.com/Index.cfm?FuseAction=Page&PageID=1000155
