New Glasgow churches to stand in solidarity against anti-Black racism

Two New Glasgow churches are coming together for a joint service this weekend in the spirit of unity, justice and solidarity against anti-Black racism.

First United Baptist, a predominantly white church, and Second United Baptist, a predominantly Black church, are organizing a community prayer that will last eight minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck, killing him.

Floyd's death has sparked international unrest as people demand justice and an end to anti-Black racism and police brutality.

The community prayer will be one of many demonstrations in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in Nova Scotia since Floyd's death.

"When this thing happens, what I have in mind is we need to speak the truth and love — that is the only way we can heal the wound," Reverend Dr. Moses Bola Adekola, the pastor at Second United Baptist, told CBC's Maritime Noon on Wednesday.

Adekola and Rev. John Dunnett, the pastor at First United Baptist, organized the prayer together to demonstrate unity between the two churches.

Dunnett told Maritime Noon that First United Baptist was established in 1875 and Second United Baptist followed in 1903 and at that time there was a "quiet apartheid" that discriminated against the Black community.

"What we're hoping to signal is that we may or may not ever reach the point down the road where we become one congregation, but we certainly become one in Christ," he said.

"And we need to just be able to stand for solidarity and justice."

Adekola said it's also time for people to listen to and learn from the Black community.

"We have the right to walk on the streets and breathe freely," he said. "That is the free gift from God Almighty and no one is licensed to deprive people of that so we need to be tolerant with each other."

He said this prayer represents a peaceful bond between the two churches and the two communities.

"We have to fight this, not by anger, not by mob, but individually and politely because freedom is a human right for all people, without singling out any race," Adekola said.

The pastors have invited people to form a line, adhering to physical distancing, along the sidewalk between the two buildings, which are about a kilometre apart, by 2 p.m. Sunday.

Dunnett said he and Adekola will be standing at the front of each other's churches for the prayer.

"All those in between us have been invited to have a prayer, thought, meditation ... thinking in terms of peace and self-reflection," he said.