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Reviewed by: Marilyn Rudy Froese

This book is a great read. We still claim funerals as a ministry of the church, but there is a tension between focusing our services on the individual who has died, and our theological beliefs about faith, the gospel and life after death. Long gives ideas on how to preach at funerals, and outlines what a service might look like. He uses the image of the funeral service as the community of faith accompanying a baptized saint on the last leg of their journey as they travel to God. Long challenges our cultural practices around funerals, while at the same time challening us to move to a deeper place.

This book is primarily for pastors and those involved in planning and leading funerals. However, it is written in an accessible style; it could be a good resource for a Sunday School class or for those who want to think about planning their own funerals.

Favourite Quotes
"Dead bodies are definitely there, and they have become unfortunately an embarrassment to us, a vulgarity, so much so that we have arrived at a place unprecedented in history: conducting Christian funerals without the presence of the dead." (pg. 31)

"In a Christian funeral, we are telling stories at one and the same time. The first story is that a sister or brother in Christ has died, and we are reverently carrying the body to the place of disposition...But we are also telling another story, a story made possible by Easter, a story that unmasks death's lies. This story is that a saint of God, precious in the sight of God, is being carried by the faithful, not to the abode of the dead, but into the arms of God." (pg. 46)

Marilyn Rudy-Froese

Meet the Reviewer:

Marilyn is married to Allan Rudy-Froese and served as chair for the Leadership Council.