"With the joyful tidings of light I hail thee: rejoice! To the court of holiness I summon thee: abide 
Therein that thy may live in peace for evermore. " Baha'u 'llah 
 
Welcome 
 
Ms. Jacquelyn Jones 
 
I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make 
 
them rejoice from their sorrow. 
 
Jeremiah 31:12 
 
Musical Selection: Faith 
 
Cause me to Taste Words from the Writings of the Baha'i 
 
From the Writings of the Baha'i Faith 
 
Mr. David Clayborne 
 
Thou hast asked me concerning the nature of the soul. Know, verily, 
 
that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most 
 
learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, 
 
however acute, can ever hope to unravel. It is the first among all 
 
created things to declare His glory, cleave to His truth, and to bow 
 
down in adoration before Him. If it be faithful to God, it will reflect 
 
His light, and will eventually, return unto Him... 
 
Baha 'u 'llah 
 
Verily, I say, the human soul is, in its essence, one of the signs of God, a mystery among His mysteries. It is one of the signs of the Almighty, the harbinger that proclaimeth the reality of all the worlds of God. Within it lieth concealed that which the world is now utterly incapable of apprehending. Ponder in thine heart the revelation of the Soul of God that pervadeth all His Laws... 
Baha'u 'llah 
 
Prayer 
 
Ms. Dalen Corazon 
 
The New Testament 
 
Ms. Carol Black 
 
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 
I John 2:25 
 
 From the Writings of the Baha'i Faith 
 
Mrs. Gwen Clayborne 
 
...(T)he worlds of God are infinite; that though they were deprived of 
 
this existence, they have other opportunities in the life beyond, even 
 
as Christ has said, "In my Father's house are many mansions." They 
 
were called away from the temporary and transferred to the eternal; 
 
they abandoned this material existence and entered the portals of the 
 
spiritual world. Foregoing the pleasures and comforts of the earthly, 
 
they now partake of a joy and happiness far more abiding and real, for 
 
they, have hastened to the Kingdom of God. The mercy of God is 
 
infinite, and it is our duty to remember these departed souls in our 
 
prayers and supplications that they may draw nearer and nearer to the 
 
Source itself. 
 
`Abdu'l-Baha 
 
...(A)fter attaining its new condition the soul is grateful, for it has 
 
been released from the bondage of the limited to enjoy the liberties 
 
of the unlimited. It has been freed from a world of sorrow, grief and 
 
trials to live in a world of unending bliss and joy. The phenomenal and 
 
physical have been abandoned in order that it may attain the 
 
opportunities of the ideal and spiritual. Therefore, the souls of those 
 
who have passed away from earth and completed their span of mortal 
 
pilgrimage...have hastened to a world superior to this. They have 
 
soared away from these conditions of darkness and dim vision into the 
 
realm of light. 
 
`Abdu'l-Baha 
 
Remembrances Musical Selection Closing Prayer 
Prayer 
 
Mrs. Gwen Clayborne 
 
My God, My Adored One 
Words from the Writings of the Baha'i Faith 
 
Interment Westover Memorial Park 
Wheeler Road Augusta, Georgia 
 
Mrs. Jan Perry Ms. Leilani Smith 
 
 A Life of Service 
 
Joy Sylvester was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, the eldest of eight children born to Hubert and Maybelle Robinson. Raised in the Pentecostal Church, Joy found in the teachings of the Baha'i Faith the fulfillment of the teachings and promises of Christ. And therefore, in May 1969 she became a member of the Baha'i Faith. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1976 and became a master math teacher for the Indianapolis School Board. She retired after 28 years of teaching. Her marriage to Scott Sylvester ended amicably in divorce. 
 
Joy dedicated her heart to serving the Baha'i 
 
Faith by teaching, serving on committees, and 
 
hosting Feasts, deepening classes and even a 
 
Winter School in her home. She is best 
 
remembered for her poetry, rich voice with 
 
which she read the Baha'i prayers, and for her 
 
cooking and unmatched hospitality. 
 
She 
 
continued to support the Indianapolis Baha'i 
 
youth and enjoy fellowship with her Baha'i sister, 
 
dalen corazon, who cared for her faithfully as her 
 
health declined over the past six years. Together 
 
they traveled to Broward County, Florida and 
 
made many loving friends. They provided the 
 
Children's Program for the 2008 Vanguard of the 
 
Dawning Conference, and adopted Tamarac as 
 
their community. In 2012 they moved to Augusta, 
 
Georgia and continued to support the Baha'i 
 
community. Joy leaves to mourn her: her father, 
 
Hubert; brothers Hubert (Pam), Phillip (Cheryl), 
 
Jeffrey (Jewel), Michael (Shatawna) and Gary; 
 
sisters Suzanne and Lori (Kevin), and a host of 
 
nieces and nephews; her spiritual family: Leilani 
 
Smith, Dona Farris, Vicki Price; Paulette Trail, 
 
Kay Harvey, Sara Dinkins, Kevin Dinkins, Merilla 
 
Swainey, Rhea, Althea, Christine and Leila, David 
 
Tremaine and many beloved friends. 
 
Leilani Smith