WELCOME TO AURORA
Aurora is a non-denominational community church in the North End of Halifax. We are nurturing into existence a spiritual home centered on Jesus for people in the North End. We are community-minded and justice-oriented. Come join us for a Sunday morning service or any other program we offer in the community.
WHO WE ARE
Aurora is a cozy community church recently planted in the North End of Halifax.
We are grateful for the space we have and acknowledge that we meet in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. We are all Treaty people and take calls to action toward reconciliation seriously.
At first glance, our white chapel might not lead you to expect anything unique from our church. We hope you will find us refreshing, life-giving, and a little different—in a good way!
We are trying new things, pursuing God, contributing to justice, and seeking to be a Christian community faithfully present in the broader community – but we don’t always get it right.
We are focused on Jesus and we strive to be like him in all we do. We place a high value on the Bible and we love interacting with it in various ways. It is a rich, varied, and life-giving text. We pray and meditate and sing together. We are progressive and growing, and we love what we are building together.
Drop us a note if you have any questions or stop by at 5666 Sebastian St. on Sunday morning at 10:00 am to meet us. You can also find us on Facebook.
You are welcome to email us at [email protected]
OUR MANIFESTO
Aurora is a non-denominational community church in the North End of Halifax. We are nurturing into existence a spiritual home centered on Jesus for people in the North End that is community minded and justice oriented.
“a non-denominational community church”
From the beginning we have not wanted to identify ourselves denominationally. We appreciate our partners and we could not exist without them but first and foremost we want to focus on following Christ and connecting with people regardless of denomination or background. We are thankful for our partners: Vision Ministries, the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada, and the Navigators of Canada all play a significant role in helping us. We welcome everyone and anyone in our local area to be a part of our community. As we are a new church, we are a bit smaller, so we can guarantee you will be welcomed and your presence will be noticed!
Check out our Events calendar for a program you can participate in.
“nurturing into existence”
We recognize, we appreciate, and we enjoy that it takes time to build good things. To see your garden grow, to brew good beer, or to raise kids well takes time, patience, care and attention. The kind of Christian community we want to develop — deeply involved in the fabric of the North End, knowing one another, and being there for one another — takes time. We are glad to be nurturers.
“a spiritual home centred on Jesus”
Home. Most of us have had one. Some of us have one now. Some don’t. Homes evoke feelings and memories good and bad. At its best, a home centres you and is a refugee and place you can be yourself. At Aurora, we consider our church to be our spiritual home and a place that all of us — all ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, incomes, languages, and ethnicities — can belong, be nourished, contribute, grow, share and find God.
We are centred on Jesus, God in the flesh. We want to be like Christ and learn to do and act as he did in our neighbourhood. Yet even those who wouldn’t quite say this is true for themselves, still belong and are given space to explore, test the boundaries, search and contribute. Our hope is that in following Jesus well we will become a beautiful expression of his kingdom in the North End. Our name Aurora means ‘the dawn’ – a wonderful picture of the beautiful new things God desires for people and places.
“community minded and justice oriented for people in the North End”
Our passion is local and our energies are directed toward our neighbourhood. Like many others, we love the North End and as a church it is our longing to help it flourish and to partner with others who want the same. We care deeply about justice and are growing in our understanding of the stories of this place and enjoy being part of those stories in meaningful and practical ways.
Come Join in on what We Do
We gather Sunday mornings at 10:00am in the church building at 5666 Sebastian St.
We alternate between two different services — Lectio Worship Sundays and Worship & Teaching Sundays. Our children’s program Children & Worship (for kids over age two) runs every second week on Lectio Sundays.
Come and join us in a service
(Click on our calendar to see which service is on which week)
On Lectio Worship Sundays we eat breakfast together because we want to build community with one another. Following the meal, which lasts about 30 mins, we transition to a time of worship which includes contemporary music, communion, and something called Lectio. Lectio is an ancient practice of prayerfully and meditatively reading the Bible. In short, a passage is read and we are given quiet time to listen, reflect and share (if we want). We are usually done everything by 11:30am. Everyone including kids is together during the first half of the service. Once the Lectio starts we run a program for kids over age two called Children & Worship.
On Worship & Teaching Sundays we also eat breakfast. After this we transition to a time of contemporary worship and teaching. We also make space to listen to each other’s stories. Most weeks our pastor will interview someone from the congregation giving them a chance to share where they see God in their lives (people volunteer for this beforehand). This has been one of the most enriching things we do, allowing us to get to know one another in deeper ways. During this service kids are welcome to move about. They are part of everything we do and we want families to feel welcome. We have an art table and some couches at the back to make things easier.
Our gatherings are designed to be authentic, relevant, and energizing.
In addition to Sunday morning, some of us volunteer in the local community together. We are continually looking for ways to be involved in each other’s lives and cultivate deeper community.
Would you consider joining with us for either our Lectio or our Worship/Teaching Meals & Services?
OUR HISTORY
The seeds of our church began over ten years ago when our pastor was volunteering at a fitness and literacy program at one of our North End elementary schools. That involvement grew into a project aimed at helping introduce youth from the community to the dream of post-secondary education. These initiatives are important to our church and many from Aurora support them.
We have a connection to the former Mulgrave Park Baptist Church which had been in existence since 1950 serving the North End of Halifax in various capacities over the years. At the end of 2018, Mulgrave Park Baptist Church passed on their legacy to us at Aurora North End Parish Church (their church plant). It is our hope that Aurora will be a fresh local expression of church for many years to come.
AURORA COMMUNITY COMMONS
Aurora Community Commons is a shared community space across from Isleville Park in the North End of Halifax belonging to Aurora North End Parish Church. With affordable space for community groups increasingly hard to find, we offer an open and evolving space for those that are working for justice, serving the marginalized, and contributing to the flourishing of people in our neighbourhood. Our space is currently home to a local artist, a yoga class, a community band, a nonprofit providing a community of care and support to families and youth, and someone doing online recovery work for those struggling with addiction.
Email us at [email protected]
SUNDAY MORNING MEETING STATUS
We meet in person every Sunday at 10am in our church building (5666 Sebastian St.) On the long weekends in July, August and September we take what we call a sabbath Sunday which means we don’t have a service. We encourage people to do other things – connect with friends, family, neighbours or each other. Other than these three weekends we meet every Sunday.
If you have any questions please email us.