Pastor in N.S. Black church reflects on fighting her good fight, as retirement nears

After nan hymns and quiet prayers of a Sunday morning, Rev. Rhonda Britton sat successful nan soundlessness of her 192-year-old Black religion successful Halifax, reflecting connected what it’s meant to guideline her congregation for 17, often challenging, years.

An important infinitesimal for her congregation came past year, erstwhile New Horizons Baptist Church reopened aft nan COVID-19 pandemic and 4 years of construction, complete pinch caller offices, comfortable chairs alternatively than woody pews, and a non-profit helping dedicated to organization and religion programs.

The beingness renewal of her religion building complements nan years she spent moving to toggle shape society, speaking truth to power, and battling for societal justice.

“The use of group is simply a cardinal portion of nan church’s mission, not conscionable nan gathering successful a building connected a Sunday morning,” said Britton, who precocious announced she is retiring astatine nan extremity of this year.

Britton, a 67-year-old erstwhile accusation exertion worker from Jacksonville, Fla., was ordained astatine nan property of 44. Her prime to subordinate nan church, she said, was a consequence to a calling she had resisted for decades, moreover arsenic friends had longtime referred to her arsenic “Rev.”

In 1999, Britton attended Princeton Theological Seminary successful New Jersey, wherever a professor, primitively from Nova Scotia, suggested she see a occupation astatine Second United Baptist Church successful New Glasgow, N.S., located successful a Canadian state she knew thing about.

In 2007, aft 5 years successful New Glasgow, she shifted to Halifax’s New Horizons — past called Cornwallis Street Baptist Church — becoming nan first female elder pastor astatine nan historical institution, connected its 175th anniversary.

She says it was “a bully fit” for a pastor who arsenic a kid attended churches whose leaders had marched alongside Martin Luther King and “spoken retired astir injustices successful society.”

New Horizons has a akin contented of long-serving, activistic preachers. Located successful downtown Halifax, nan religion was founded by Rev. Richard Preston, who planted churches astir nan state and formed nan African Abolition Society successful 1846 to combat racism. In 1937, William Pearly Oliver began a 25-year ministry successful what was past a segregated city, and he would go a founding personnel of nan Nova Scotia Association for nan Advancement of Coloured People.

In her first years astatine nan Halifax church, Britton said she focused connected aiding nan community, done outreach programs specified arsenic nan proviso of parenting classes. “People were trying to raise their children — immoderate of them were children themselves, and truthful very young,” she recalled.

As thoroughfare unit accrued successful nan metropolis complete nan years, she was worried that younker were being influenced by nan glorification of gangs and supplier civilization successful nan United States. Working pinch 3 different pastors, her religion helped shape Save our Sons, Save our Sisters successful 2012, a faith-based effort to reside unit and exploitation done preventive programs.

“It was a rites of transition programme for our young boys and girls, school them not only astir their history, but besides … empowering them to make bully decisions,” she said.

In 2011, nan curate supported a lengthy tribunal conflict opposing nan waste of a nearby, abandoned schoolhouse to a developer. She took portion successful a conjugation pushing nan metropolis to licence their non-profit group to get nan onshore and create a operation of marketplace and low-income housing.

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Faced pinch criticisms this was nary matter for clergy, Britton says, “Sometimes you person to situation nan powers that beryllium connected nan decisions that they are making that are not adjuvant aliases patient aliases adjacent and equitable to people. ”

Progress is often slow, and disappointments inevitably person emerged, she said.

“I conscionable spot it as, ‘OK, there’s much activity to do’ … Human beings support messing things up truthful agelong arsenic location are quality beings,” she said. Healing besides comes from remembering “God exists and God still has us,” she said.

This summertime a 17-year-old Black woman was changeable and severely injured while attending a reunion of residents of Africville — a historical Black organization successful nan northbound extremity of Halifax that was demolished successful nan 1960s. Police person said nan young female was caught successful crossfire arsenic she cared for her young cousins.

In response, Britton called for a “circle of lament” to let group to definitive their sadness astatine nan violence. It was a contented begun successful January 2023 erstwhile nan congregation re-entered their renovated and renamed building and needed to grieve those who had died and suffered from nan years distant from their beloved church.

“The work allowed attendees to definitive their condolences nevertheless they desired. Some group simply wept. Some shared their travel and their feelings of loss,” she wrote successful a caller email.

Meanwhile, nan ongoing activity of maintaining a mini religion — which for illustration others has an aging congregation — continues.

During a caller Sunday service, nan baskets were passed to cod donations arsenic group prayed that congregants would springiness generously to thief nan religion salary disconnected a $1-million mortgage.

Britton admits she is “tired” and says she will remainder and discern what comes adjacent aft she leaves connected Dec. 31.

“The Lord has decreed it is fine. You tin go. You’ve done what you came to do … and you tin go,” she said.

This study by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2024.