A place of resilience: What Witherspoon Presbyterian Church means to the community

When thinking about places — real, tangible locations — around Indianapolis that are important both historically and culturally to the Black community, what do you think of? If you said Witherspoon Presbyterian Church, you are not alone. Established in 1907, Witherspoon is one of the oldest Black Presbyterian churches in the nation — and one of the last remaining in the Midwest. Having merged with Immanuel Presbyterian Church in 2022 and celebrating its 181st anniversary on Oct. 13, the church has not only survived but thrived for more than a century due to its spirit of resilience, said Senior Pastor Winterbourne Harrison-Jones. “The Black church has always been a place of gathering, a place of teaching, a place of engagement, and Witherspoon is right in line with those forms,” Harrison-Jones said. “Arts and education have always been our niches, arts programs, choir, concerts, political engagement, after school programs, education enrichment, you name it, Witherspoon has always offered those kinds of resources to the community.” Witherspoon spent most of its formative years on Indiana Avenue but was displaced by Indiana University’s Medical Campus expansion through imminent domain and relocated several times over the years, calling the corner of 9th and Camp...