WHEREAS, the Reverend M. Sylvia Ball, pastor of Sweet Union Baptist Church and a beloved member of the Roanoke community, died on March 8, 2018; and

WHEREAS, a native of Washington, D.C., Sylvia Ball worked for the Internal Revenue Service for more than 23 years and served as chief learning officer of the Treasury Acquisition Institute for two years until her retirement from civil service; and

WHEREAS, ordained to the ministry in 2004, Sylvia Ball served as pastor of Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Waldorf, Maryland, and helped the congregation grow from six founding members to more than 25 members within a year; and

WHEREAS, after earning a master of divinity degree from Virginia Union University, Sylvia Ball was named pastor of Sweet Union Baptist Church in 2011, becoming the first African American woman to lead a Baptist congregation in Roanoke; and

WHEREAS, during her tenure as pastor of Sweet Union Baptist Church, Sylvia Ball inspired members of the community through her confident preaching and wise spiritual counsel; and

WHEREAS, Sylvia Ball will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her husband, William; her daughter, Lavone, and her family; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby note with great sadness the loss of the Reverend M. Sylvia Ball, a respected spiritual leader in Roanoke; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of the Reverend M. Sylvia Ball as an expression of the House of Delegates' respect for her memory.