Indiana 2025 Regular Session

Indiana Senate Bill SR0023 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	Introduced Version
2	2	SENATE RESOLUTION No. ___
3	3	DIGEST OF INTRODUCED RESOL UTION
4	4	A SENATE RESOLUTION to honor the West Baden Renewal
5	5	Project for its efforts in restoring the West Baden (Colored)
6	6	First Baptist Church in West Baden Springs, Indiana.
7	7
8	8	.
9	9	YODER, KOCH
10	10	, read first time and referred to Committee on
11	11	2025 DR 3843/DI tg Introduced
12	12	First Regular Session 124th General Assembly (2025)
13	13	SENATE RESOLUTION ____
14	14	ME. PRESIDENT:
15	15	I offer the following resolution and move its adoption:
16	16	1 A SENATE RESOLUTION to honor the West Baden
17	17	2 Renewal Project for its efforts in restoring the West Baden
18	18	3 (Colored) First Baptist Church in West Baden Springs, Indiana.
19	19	4 Whereas, In 1920, at the corner of Sinclair and Elm Streets,
20	20	5 West Baden's (Colored) First Baptist Church was built on land
21	21	6 donated by West Baden hotel owner Lee Sinclair for $1;
22	22	7 Whereas, The Church became the foundation of West
23	23	8 Baden's Black community, where many came to work as
24	24	9 bellhops, maids, waiters, and other service staff for West Baden
25	25	10 Springs Hotel;
26	26	11 Whereas, When employment dried up, the church became
27	27	12 largely vacant by the early 1990s. The Town of West Baden
28	28	13 Springs eventually took ownership, but had no success in
29	29	14 selling the building;
30	30	15 Whereas, The West Baden (Colored) First Baptist Church
31	31	16 building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
32	32	17 in 1994 and is the sole African American landmark in West
33	33	18 Baden Springs on the Register;
34	34	2025 DR 3843/DI tg 2
35	35	1 Whereas, By 2014, the church's poor condition landed it on
36	36	2 Indiana Landmark's ten most endangered historic places in the
37	37	3 state;
38	38	4 Whereas, The building's endangered status drew the
39	39	5 attention of the Southeastern District Association of the Indiana
40	40	6 Missionary Baptist State Convention. The group purchased the
41	41	7 building for $1, promising to restore it;
42	42	8 Whereas, Under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Bruce R.
43	43	9 Rose, Indiana historian and documentarian, Elizabeth Mitchell
44	44	10 and a dedicated group of volunteers from the Second Baptist
45	45	11 Church Bloomington began collecting donations and doing the
46	46	12 hands-on work;
47	47	13
48	48	14 Whereas, Workers saved original pews and the bell tower,
49	49	15 and incorporated part of a stained-glass window salvaged from
50	50	16 a historic church in Terre Haute; and
51	51	17 Whereas, The church has been through a miraculous
52	52	18 transformation. It is warm and bright, having been outfitted
53	53	19 with new flooring, bright white walls, and stained-glass
54	54	20 window pieces. The historic church now holds weekly Sunday
55	55	21 services and is a stunning showcase of a community's labor of
56	56	22 love: Therefore,
57	57	23 Be it resolved by the Senate of the
58	58	24 General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
59	59	25 SECTION 1. That the Indiana Senate honors West Baden
60	60	26 Renewal Project for its efforts in restoring West Baden's
61	61	27 (Colored) First Baptist Church.
62	62	28 SECTION 2. That the Secretary of the Senate is hereby
63	63	29 directed to transmit eight copies of this Resolution to the West
64	64	30 Baden Renewal Project.
65	65	2025 DR 3843/DI tg