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African American Baptist Conventions Hold Historic Joint Meeting Jan. 24-28

Click here for the full meeting schedule.

Click here to read more/view live Webcasts Scheduled for 6-10 p.m. Central Time 1/24; 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 1/25; 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 1/26, and 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 1/27

January 24, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. (PNBC); National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. (NBCUSA); The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (NBCA), and National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (NMBCA) are gathering in Nashville Jan. 24-28 to work on a myriad of issues relevant to the African American community. The leadership of these conventions represents over 15 million African Americans.

As a response to the dream of Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, former president of PNBC, three African American Baptist Convention presidents, Dr. C. Mackey Daniels of PNBC, Dr. E. Edward Jones of NBCA, and Dr. William J. Shaw of NBCUSA met six years ago to discuss the possibility of this joint meeting. A year ago, the present presidents of the four African American Baptist Conventions, Dr. Major L. Jemison, President of PNBC; Dr. William J. Shaw, President of NBCUSA; Dr. Stephen J. Thurston, President of NBCA; and Dr. Melvin V. Wade, President of NMBCA, met to organize this historic meeting of African American Baptists.

The meeting's theme is "Building Better Bridges for Ministry."  The four African American Baptist Conventions are coming together to celebrate, worship, and work to set an agenda for African American Baptists.

Central to this Joint Meeting are the forums. These forums will provide an opportunity for those present to participate in collective dialogue about the issues that are important to the survival of the African American community.

Topics include African American Education and Holistic Health, African American Economic Development and Its Effect Upon Political Empowerment, and African American Spirituality and Its Effect Upon Social Justice and Global Issues. The goal of these forums is to provide a framework for the four conventions to work over the next five years to address the needs of the African American community. These forums grew out of a joint committee of the four conventions chaired by Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Chairperson of the Progressive National Convention's Civil Rights Commission and Pastor of the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.

Featured preachers at the Jan. 24-28 joint meeting include Dr. Major L. Jemison, President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.; Dr. William J. Shaw, President of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc.; Dr. Stephen J. Thurston, President of The National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; and Dr. Melvin V. Wade, President of the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Inc., and featured speakers for the forums include Dr. John Kinney, Dean of the Samuel T. DeWitt Proctor School of Religion at Virginia Union University; Dr. Clarence Newsome, President of Shaw University; Dr. Forrest Elliott Harris, Sr., President of American Baptist College; Dr. Marion Wright Edelman, Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund; Dr. Stephanie White Perry, Asst. Commissioner, Department of Health, State of Tennessee; Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, President of the Hampton Ministers' Conference; and Dr. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., President and CEO of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

Venue: Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, 2800 Opryland Drive, Nashville, Tennessee 37214.  General Information: 615-889-1000; Website: www.gaylordhotels.com

A PRESS CONFERENCE is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on January 28th (Delta Island E Room) with Dr. Major L. Jemison, President of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. presiding.

-end-

Media Contact: For more information and to schedule mini-interviews, contact Deborah Pankey-Mebane at 301-477-4188 (office)/410-206-8082 (cell) or Dr. Allen Hand, at 718-495-6772 (office)/917-535-3609 (cell).


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