Open Door Community Church

With no definite borders, the Spryfield area of the Halifax Regional Municipality boasts a population of about 5,000 living in an area usually accepted to be bounded by Herring Cove Road between Walker's Funeral Home and the old city limits at Herring Cove. As a suburb of Halifax, the town of Spryfield was annexed by Halifax in 1969 - yet its residents retained much of their identity and sense of community.  Many of the amenities one would find in a small town such as retail shopping, grocery stores, schools, restaurants, fact-food, recreational facilities, walking trails, and publicly accessible lakes.

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Spryfield has a distinction of being a "town within the city", making it easy to deem some of the social issues found here as a "Spryfield" problem.  Media and public perception is of a poverty stricken community teeming with rampant crime, serious drug abuse problems and gang wars.  While some aspects of these problems do exist in the community 

statistics indicate that Spryfield has a much lower rate of these crimes than many other areas of the city.

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There are several large housing developments in various stages of planning and development.  It is expected within ten years that another 1500 residential dwellings will be built in the community.

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A multi-service advisory committee is based in the area providing community support for issues as divergent as youth self-esteem, adult employment stress and senior health care.  A business commission is active in the community to promote and support the economic development of the area.  As well, Lions/Lionesses and other philanthropic societies are very active in the community.

Several Christian churches and groups are based in the area as well as a number of other spiritual faiths. Roman Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Pentacostal, United, Lutheran and several non-denominational congregations meet regularly. Other faiths are also represented including Ba'Hai, Church of Latter Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslim and Wiccan.

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It is within this landscape of contrasts, we at Open Door Community minister as a non-denominational Christian congregation.