VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 5/17/11)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) announces prominent social justice advocate Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr. as the speaker for its “Discipleship, Community and Justice Breakfast” to be held on Sunday, June 26, at the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) Biennial in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Smith will speak about “Hope in Troubled Times.”

Noted for his legacy of leadership and ministry, Smith is a renowned scholar and an acclaimed preacher. He is pastor emeritus of Allen Temple Baptist Church, Oakland, Calif., professor of Preaching and Church Ministries at American Baptist Seminary of the West, and past president of American Baptist Churches of the West and the Progressive National Baptist Convention. An advocate of peace and righteousness, Smith speaks out for the poor, the downtrodden, the left-outs and the left-behinds and against such injustices as South African Apartheid.

In addition, he is an accomplished author of more than 16 books, including “Speak Until Justice Wakes: Prophetic Reflections from J. Alfred Smith, Sr.” ABHMS offers a free copy of the book to each of the first 100 individuals who register for the “Discipleship, Community and Justice Breakfast” on the ABCUSA Web site at www.abc-usa.org.

For more information about the breakfast and other ABHMS activities planned for the Biennial, visit the ABHMS Web site at www.abhms.org > Biennial 2011.

American Baptist Home Mission Societies—the domestic mission arm of American Baptist Churches USA—ministers as the caring heart and serving hands of Jesus Christ across the United States and Puerto Rico through a multitude of initiatives that focus on discipleship, community and justice.

American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.