wfn.org | ABCUSA: Brinson to be Honored at Morehouse Anniversary

["SCHRAMM, Richard" <Rich.Schramm@abc-usa.org>]

Celebration

American Baptist News Service (Valley Forge, Pa. 1/21/05)--The Rev. Dr.
Albert Paul Brinson, recently retired prominent American Baptist leader,
will be honored  for his service to Morehouse College during its 138th
anniversary celebration Feb. 19-20.

Brinson, a Morehouse graduate, has been invited to deliver both the
evocation and Founders Sunday sermon.  Some 1,500 Atlanta city officials
and students, faculty, administrators and other representatives of
Morehouse are expected to attend.

Additionally Morehouse College will honor Brinson by unveiling an oil
portrait of him by Hoeun Chung, which will be placed permanently next to
that of the school's founder, Henry Lyman Morehouse.

In informing Brinson of the honors, Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean
of chapel, professor of religion and college curator at Morehouse, said,
"Your contribution helping the Morehouse College family build a deeper
and richer understanding of its diverse history is vitally important in
our age of pluralism.  You have significantly assisted us in teaching
our current generation of students diversity maturity and racial
reconciliation.  Yours has been a unique type of visionary activism not
always understood by students but necessary for creating the beloved
community.  By honoring you and your professional career as an American
Baptist churchman, we strengthen the continuity of the sources of our
Atlanta institution as a national and international treasure."

Carter emphasized that "the college seeks to continually identify
with...American Baptist Churches, [which] is most responsible for the
college's establishment and stability in the city of Atlanta."

Brinson retired April 30, 2004 as interim associate general secretary
for World Mission Support of American Baptist Churches USA.  He had
served as associate director of World Mission Support from 1991 until
October 2002. In his work with World Mission Support he traveled across
the U.S. as a fundraiser and bridge builder among multiethnic
congregations within American Baptist Churches USA. He had
responsibility for training new ministers of Mission Support and
leadership within World Mission Support core staff. He also served as
Affirmative Action officer for the Office of the General Secretary,
staff to the Denominational Inclusiveness Committee of the American
Baptist General Board, and a member of the Staff Advisory Group to the
Biennial Program Committee.

Previously Brinson was a World Mission Support field counselor for
American Baptist Churches of the South, where he was chief fundraiser
related to nearly 250 churches and American Baptistrelated colleges
and
seminaries in the region.

A leader in civil rights work and a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., John Lewis and others, Brinson was active in the student movement
that involved sit-ins and acts of civil disobedience which eventually
led to the end of segregation in the South.

Brinson was licensed and ordained at the historic Ebenezer Baptist
Church in Atlanta by copastors Martin Luther King Sr. and Martin
Luther
King Jr. He served pastorates at Antioch Baptist Church, Corona, N.Y.,
and Bank Street Memorial Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va.

A popular preacher and speaker, Brinson has sought out opportunities to
dialog with seminarians and young pastors.  He has received numerous
civic and institutional honors for his work and ministry.  He holds a
B.A. degree in English and education from Morehouse, an M.Div. degree
from Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta and a D.Min. from
United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

K/2005ABNS/05ABN14

American Baptist News Service: Office of Communication, American Baptist
Churches USA, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851; (800)ABC-3USA
x2077 / (610)768-2077; fax: (610)768-2320; www.abc-usa.org;
richard.schramm@abc-usa.org