The Reverend Dr Devon Dick, president of the Jamaica Baptist Union and pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church, is among the speakers slated to bring greetings at the 55th gathering of the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) in the United States this week.

Dick's greeting will be done on Tuesday during that business session chaired by the Reverend Dr James Perkins, president of the PNBC.

The PNBC has a membership of 14 million people from 2,000 churches, and this convention being held in New Orleans, USA has 5,000 conferees.

It grew out of the civil rights movement in the USA, and this is the convention with which the late civil rights activist the Reverend Dr Luther King Jr was associated.

The PNBC will have a focus on voting rights and churches will be encouraged to become centres for voter registration.

Hilary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee and first woman to be running as a presidential candidate on a major ticket, is also expected to address the convention, among other politicians.

Other features of the convention are a gala dinner to honour the spouses of pastors; workshops dealing with leadership development, using social media in church ministry, and the presidential sermon.

The convention ends on Sunday, August 14.