Brenda Odell’s recollection captures how two churches of different denominations organized the Jones family’s faith and sense of place in their neighborhood. Ida Mae Jones’s name is inscribed on the cornerstone of Washington Chapel C.M.E., her lifelong church. The couple are buried in the White’s Chapel A.M.E. cemetery, S. L.’s church. They were trustees of both Washington Chapel and White’s Chapel, and they raised their children as members of both congregations.

When Washington Chapel celebrated a mortgage burning event, pastors from across the region sent letters in celebration of their milestone. Pictured in the program are portraits of S. L. and Ida Jones, honoring their business and civil rights legacy. When S. L. passed, his funeral service was hosted by the church, with the White’s Chapel Choir singing the hymns. His legacy for empowering the community lived on through the chapel hosting the annual S. L. Jones Awards and Scholarship Banquet. 

The collection hosts newspaper clippings that celebrate the churches’ milestones, certificates from missionary groups and vacation bible schools that honor the Jones family’s involvement, personal notes, and pictures of the congregation.