By RON FANFAIR
Reverend Rhonda Britton was anxious on her first visit to New Glasgow over two decades ago to interview for the pastoral post at Second United Baptist Church.
Who could blame her as travelling to new unfamiliar places anchors people in that moment.
Even after accepting the role, the plan was to spend about three years in Atlantic Canada and return to the United States.
In 2007, after five years as the first ordained woman to serve at the church, Britton moved to New Horizons Baptist Church, formerly Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, becoming the first woman senior pastor in its 193-year history.
On December 29, she preached her last sermon at the historically Black church which was established by Black refugees.
“My appointment marked a change in the understanding of who God called to carry the gospel and the fact that God can use anybody,” said Britton, the first Black woman president of the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada. “For the church, it was a change in the traditional thinking that this was a man’s role. It was a new era in the church in terms of a greater understanding of how God works and being a part of how God moves.”
Soon after arriving in Halifax’s north end, she met Mi’kmaq elder, activist and historian Daniel Paul who succumbed to cancer in June 2023.
For almost three decades, he advocated for renaming landmarks named after Edward Cornwallis who founded Halifax in 1749 and was Nova Scotia’s governor for three years until 1752.
In 1993, Paul wrote a book portraying Cornwallis as a White supremacist responsible for the genocide of the Mi’kmaq people.
“Daniel wanted to educate me because I didn’t know who Cornwallis was and his history,” said Britton who was a Moderator of the African United Baptist Association of Nova Scotia. “He told me about the problems Mi’kmaq people had with this man who issued a bounty on the heads of their people.”
Now aware of Cornwallis’ controversial past, she approached the church’s Board chair to find out if members would be willing to sign a petition to change the street name.
“That was important because our church was named after the street,” said Britton who was born and raised in Jacksonville. “If the street name changed, it was logical that the church name would be changed because we would no longer be on Cornwallis St. There are members of our congregation who have longstanding relationships with First Nations people.
“We signed that petition, but nothing happened for nearly 10 years despite my writing to City Hall.”
In pushing for the name change, she was adamant that the new one should reflect a concept.
“I was thinking about names like Friendship Ave., Reconciliation Way or Harmony Blvd. because there is always going to be something in the life of a person that someone will take exception to no matter how good the person was or the exceptional things they did,” said Britton.
During talks to renovate the church, the leadership discussed the possibility of changing the church name.
“That was to reflect better who we think we are as a body in Christ and what God has called us to do,” Britton said. “Having a refurbished building was a perfect time for a name change. For some people, it will always be Cornwallis St. no matter what you call it. When we had a public discussion in a church meeting, the support for the name change was overwhelming and that surprised me.”
The solicitation of names from congregation members took about two years.
“People had to come up with the rationale behind the names they proposed,” said Britton. “They had to state the meaning behind the name and why it would be good for the church. We had a committee that vetted the names to see if there were other churches in the vicinity with that name. With a shortlist, we had three rounds of voting where names were eliminated.”
Nova Scotia’s Registry of Joint Stocks that approves and registers business names in the province endorsed New Horizons.
Six months after the renovated church re-opened, Cornwallis St. was officially renamed Nora Bernard St. in October 2023.
The renaming honours the Mi’kmaq activist who was instrumental in a class-action lawsuit against Canada on behalf of residential school survivors that was settled for over $5 billion in 2005.
An integral component of the church is the Richard Preston Centre of Excellence which provides young people tutoring, mentoring and other support services.
The Nova Scotia government invested $1.7 million to support the expansion of the essential community hub.
“Our church has always encouraged young people to get an education and the necessary skills to function in the evolving work environment,” said Britton. “We are very big on youth empowerment. The Richard Preston Society began as a non-profit arm of the church. Eventually, we started talking about the things we could do with the centre in terms of programming as that had to be part of the proposal that was submitted to the city to keep the property.”
Preston was a slave in Virginia who founded several Black churches in Nova Scotia and the African Baptist United Association in 1854.
The centre also provides artistic programming, seniors programs, technology training, family dynamics knowledge and grant writing tips.
During her pastoral tenure in Nova Scotia, Britton was very outspoken on discrimination, youth violence and current issues.
“I believe that is part of the mandate of the church,” she said. “We are called to bring injustice to the forefront, hoping that we can bring about change. It is part of what our faith teaches and what Jesus is as one who stands alongside the marginalized.
“God established the idea of equity and justice in the Old Testament…We are the ones who are called to speak truth to power and let governments know that people are not being cared for on an equitable basis. I believe it is important for a church to have a social conscience.”
Britton was also active outside her church community.
Believing that a proper burial is the most basic of human actions, she officiated a graveside service last June for a Black man who was executed in 1826.
Convicted for the murder of a White man at a boarding house, Labban Powell was hung in Kings County.
He was a medical skeleton for decades after family members didn’t claim the body.
Powell’s remains were laid to rest at Gibson Woods United Baptist Church Cemetery in Centreville.
“It is never too late to do the right thing,” said Britton. “A hundred and ninety-eight years ago, Mr. Powell was denied his humanity. Today, we gather to restore it. We gather to say Mr. Powell’s life mattered. We gather to bear witness and to right a horrible wrong.”
Baptized at age nine, Britton grew up with her grandmother in Green Cove Springs in northeast Florida and began praying earnestly for God’s guidance. At age 15, she experienced visions of preaching to large congregations.
“That was when the Lord called me to preach, but I didn’t embrace it because I didn’t understand it then,” she said. “A guest preacher came to our church and inquired during the sermon if we asked God what we wanted to do with our lives. I thought no because, as a teenager, I had made up my mind about what I wanted to do for a vocation. He challenged us to ask God and I did that. I took it seriously and prayed about it.
“While sitting on the front porch at home one day, I had a vision of myself speaking to a large crowd. At the time, we didn’t have any woman preachers, especially in the Baptist church. I had no role models in terms of that and I didn’t know what to make of that vision. I tucked that away and went about my life.”
Leaving Florida to complete her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in New York, Britton was an usher, trustee and co-founder of the Women’s Ministry in her New York church.
While residing in New Jersey and working in the information technology sector, God called again and she accepted at age 44.
“It was time,” Britton said. “There were a couple of things I went through when that second call came that led me to accept it.”
She resigned from the full-time job she held for 20 years, enrolled in Princeton Theological Seminary where she graduated with a Master of Divinity degree and entered full-time ministry.
Britton was an intern for two years at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Milltown, New Jersey, a summer intern at St. Columbia’s Presbyterian Church in Johannesburg, South Africa and a Pastoral Assistant at St. Philip’s Baptist Church in Staten Island for four years.
While at Princeton, she met Professor Emeritus Dr. Peter Paris who planted the seed in her head to consider coming north of the border.
“I knew he was Canadian, but I was not thinking about that,” Britton said. “When he reminded me that his home church needed a pastor, I did not take him seriously. After I saw him a few months later and he asked if I thought about it, I inquired if he was serious and he said ‘yes’ and asked if he could send them my resume.
“I gave him permission.”
Her first visit to Nova Scotia was inauspicious.
“Though I grew up in a small town in Florida, I just could not make sense of it,” she said. “There was no downtown, it didn’t seem to have much to offer in terms of arts and culture and it was far away from Halifax. While I didn’t like the town, I absolutely loved the people, ranging from those who met me at the airport to those who showed me around and invited me to social events.”
Though embraced by the community, Britton – who attended the Montreal Jazz Festival on a few occasions and a business meeting in Guelph while working in the corporate sector before going to Nova Scotia – was unsure she could reside in the urban town.
Back in the United States, she ran into another professor who mentioned he heard she was going to Paris’ church.
“When I told him I was undecided, he pulled me in a corner and said Peter had never asked anyone to pastor at his home church where his family worshipped,” said Britton who served on Corrections Canada’s Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy and Halifax’s Poverty Solutions Advisory Committee. “By asking me to go to his church, he said what Peter was saying is he is trusting his family to me for spiritual teaching and guidance. He told me to pray about it and I did.”
While spiritually uplifting others, she returned to university and completed her Doctor of Ministry at Acadia Divinity College (ADC) that, in November 2021, recognized her with an Alumni Distinguished Service Award for Christian leadership and a strong commitment to social justice.
“We are deeply grateful for her as an alumna who challenges our students and graduates to take up the cause of justice in the community as an essential part of what it means to share the good news of Jesus,” ADC President Anna Robbins said at the time.”
Retirement has been on Britton’s radar for a couple of years.
“It had always been my plan to stay for another year or two after the building renovation was completed to make sure the congregation settled in,” she said. “I didn’t plan to be here for this long.”
Dr. Carol Duncan, a professor in the Department of Religion & Culture at Wilfrid Laurier University, met Britton in her early days at New Horizons.
“Her commitment to the congregation and the wider community was immediately apparent,” said the 3M National Teaching Fellow whose research focuses on Black Church studies in Canada, Caribbean religions in transnational and diasporic contexts, religion and popular culture and women’s and gender studies. “She brought her passion for social justice and her love of people to her role as pastor. I have included references to Pastor Britton and her service to the church and community in my teaching on Black Churches in Canada.”
Retired Royal Canadian Navy Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class Perry Colley started attending the church after meeting his wife, Sherri Borden Colley, who is an award-winning journalist and recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of King’s College last year.
“Her biggest impact is the leadership that was demonstrated during the reconstruction and keeping the historic legacy as part of the building which has been designated a National Historic Site,” said the former Unit Coxswain. “I also admired her for being out in the community talking loudly about the issues the Black community faces and the root causes that create poverty, youth violence and lack of opportunity.”
As Britton packs her belongings and prepares to sell her home, it’s a bittersweet farewell to a space filled with memories.
“This is the longest I have lived in one place as an adult,” she said.
Is there one highlight of her time in Nova Scotia?
“I don’t know if there is one,” said Britton who was the recipient of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the King Charles III Coronation Medals. “Seeing the church through this renovation is a major piece of my legacy work here. I am always thrilled when the lightbulb comes on and people embrace Jesus Christ. Baptizing those people is a highlight for me in ministry.”
On her last Sunday preaching at New Horizons, she baptized three parishioners, including educator, civil and human rights activist and singer/songwriter Delvina Bernard who will release a photobook later this year about the Black churches in Nova Scotia that she photographed.
“I have always struggled with Christianity because of how it suppressed Black people, especially during slavery,” the doctoral candidate said. “So much of what that doctrine has been about has been at odds with my philosophy, beliefs and undying love for Black people.”
About eight years ago, Bernard got a calling from God after a singer spoke about her near-death experience at the church.
“That opened up my emotions and the power of prayer, church community and God,” she said. “I have always been inspired by Reverend Britton and I loved the fact that she was the first woman pastor, which was special for me.
“It was her touch and the singer’s testimony years ago that did it. Over time, I made my peace with my conflicts because I wanted to show my outward expression for being a part of the church family.
“If I was going to be baptized, it was going to be in a Black Baptist church because of how they have held the Black community together and how powerful women in that church organization have been. I could not think about anyone else that could dip me underwater than Reverend Britton.”
Britton intends to spend the first year of retirement relaxing and travelling. After that, she will focus on completing her autobiography.
