Cornwallis Street Baptist Church's new name nears approval

An iconic church in north-end Halifax is getting a new name. Pending approval from Nova Scotia regulators, the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church will be rebranded as New Horizons Baptist Church.

The change fulfilled a promise the congregation made last year to drop Cornwallisfrom the name as a show of support for Indigenous people upset with its connection to Edward Cornwallis, the founder of Halifax.

"I love it, I'm excited about it," said senior Pastor Rhonda Britton. "It's been quite a process in trying to come to a name."

Pending N.S. regulator approval

Britton said two previous name choices were rejected by the province's Registry of Joint Stocks, the government agency that approves and registers business names in Nova Scotia.

She said the names New Hope Community Baptist Churchand Heritage Baptist Churchwere both rejected because they were too similar to previously registered names.

The names all came from a list suggested by members of the congregation.

Britton said the registry has already given preliminary approval to the new choice.

She said the new name reflects changes already in progress at the church.

Church to be renovated

"We've lost some of our pillars, some of our seniors who have passed on into eternity," she said.

"But we have a new crop of a new generation of people that have come along. And with each new generation, there are new hopes and dreams and we desire to do greater things than we've done in the past and so I think all of it, with the new building and new people and new energy, it just all signals this move forward."

This summer, work will begin on a $1.5-million renovation of the church. Britton said the renovation will balance the church's historic nature with future needs.

The Cornwallis Street Baptist Church traces its origins to 1832.