Meeting will bring together black denominations

Leaders of four of the nation’s historically black denominations plan to hold a joint meeting in January, marking the first time such a gathering has taken place since they started forming separate organizations in the early 1900s.

The winter board meeting of the National Baptist Convention USA, National Baptist Convention of America, Progressive National Baptist Convention and National Missionary Baptist Convention of America is expected to bring more than 7,500 people to Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 23-28.

“It will give us an opportunity like we’ve never had before to create for our people an agenda that we all can rally around and work toward for the good of African-Americans and minorities in this country as a whole,” said the Rev. Major L. Jemison, president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

The National Baptist Convention USA began in 1895. In 1915 the National Baptist Convention of America split away over a dispute about control of a publishing house.

In 1961 the Progressive National Baptist Convention split from the NBCUSA because of differences over civil rights and leadership. Finally, in 1988, the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America was formed after additional disputes.

The Rev. Robert M. Franklin, a professor of social ethics at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, said the effort could fill a need for relations across denominations since the Congress of National Black Churches was dissolved last year.

“We’ve really had a vacuum of vigorous ecumenical cooperation in the black church community,” said Franklin.