Former Black church site a finalist in competition for renovation funding

Chuck Smith's earliest memories of the Sharon Assembly Church in Yarmouth, N.S., are sitting in the front pew as a boy listening to his grandfather, Rev. Nathan Smith, preach to the congregation.

"He was a fire-and-brimstone type of preacher," Smith recalled with a laugh during a recent interview.

"He put the fear of God in you. If you weren't good, you knew where you were going. He was a very powerful speaker, very flamboyant, but also a wonderful human being, too."

The building on East Street has fallen on hard times since it closed in 2012 due to financial struggles and a declining congregation. But as Smith and a group of volunteers have come together to try to save it, they're hoping for some added help.

The former church is one of 12 sites across the country — and the only Nova Scotia location — to reach the finals of the Next Great Save, a competition put on by the National Trust of Canada to help save historic sites. Voting runs until April 17, with the top vote-getter receiving $50,000. The first and second runners-up receive $10,000 and $5,000, respectively.

"For me, it's preserving not only a part of Yarmouth's history and the Black history, but it's preserving a part of, you know, Nova Scotia's history that's been there since the 1800s," said Vanessa Fells, who, like Smith, is a member of the volunteer board with deep family ties to the site.

Smith estimates they need about $500,000, with a new roof being the most pressing priority. The goal is to install a kitchen, museum and space for gatherings. The board hopes the building could also serve as a warming centre in times of need.

Fells said the board is pursuing funding support from all three levels of government, along with provincial and federal heritage status. But winning the competition would give their efforts a much-needed jump-start.

Like everyone involved, it's a personal matter for Fells. She has fond memories of attending weddings as a child, vacation Bible schools and knowing the generational connections her family and the broader local Black community have to the site.

"It's our church. It's our family church. It has always been a part of who we are."

Smith's family owes its ties to Yarmouth to the church.

His great-grandfather, Rev. George William Smith, was an African Methodist minister who moved the family from Shelburne, N.S., to Yarmouth when he took on his final assignment at the church.

'This place has my heart'

Smith's father was a boy at the time and, along with others, grew up singing in the church before going on to be a part of the noted local gospel music group the Mission-Aires.

After the church closed and Smith would take walks past the site, he always hoped it could be preserved. That wish got a real boost when the volunteer board came together and started working last year. Smith is hoping the broader community will pitch in now that the site has reached the finals of the Next Great Save by voting to support the place that is so dear to him.

"This place has my heart."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.