CINCINNATI (ABP) — The Progressive National Baptist Convention has named T. DeWitt Smith as its new president. Elected at the convention's annual summer session, Smith will succeed Major Jemison as leader of the Washington, D.C.-based denomination.
Smith is pastor of Trinity Baptist Church of Metro Atlanta. Jemison, who recently finished his four-year term, is a pastor in Oklahoma City, Okla. Smith ran uncontested for the position.
Delegates to the four-day meeting also approved more than two dozen resolutions, including ones that support a “humane” immigration policy, a lift on travel bans to Cuba, the Voting Rights Act, and affirmative action.
Several resolutions called for an end to the war in Iraq, urging government leaders to redirect war resources to help rebuild areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The convention, which has more than 2 million members, has objected to the war in Iraq since 2003.
One Iraq resolution said rebuilding in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast “should be done with financial and other support systems comparable to the resources available to Iraq.”
“We believe [the war in Iraq] to be unnecessary and that we should have our troops home,” Smith said in a statement to the Religion News Service.
Smith serves on the boards of the National Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance. He also belongs to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Founded in 1961, the convention has partnered with American Baptist Churches since 1970 and is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. It emphasizes “fellowship, service, progress and peace,” according to its website.
-30-