BY DAWN BAUMGARTNER VAUGHAN

dvaughan@heraldsun.com; 419-6563

DURHAM -- In "Accompany Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral," Thomas G. Long critiques the contemporary Christian funeral and calls for a return to the traditional funeral where the mourners figuratively carry the deceased along the last part of their baptismal journey to God. Long will be in Durham Sunday preaching at First Presbyterian Church and will be part of a discussion of his book Monday morning, also at the church.

Long is the Bandy Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He consulted funeral directors like Mark Higgins of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service to learn about the practical world of a contemporary funeral director. Higgins has had a majority interest in Hall-Wynne since 1992.

In "Accompany Them With Singing," Long lays out the history and theology behind changes in Christian funerals over the centuries. Long writes that the new pattern in modern funerals generally includes a memorial service rather than a funeral; a brief, personalized service rather than one with standard liturgies; focus on life of the deceased; emphasis on joy over sadness; and private disposition of the body. According to Long, the shift is most pronounced among white, suburban Protestants.

Higgins said that he sees Long's book as a significant call to clergy to return to traditions that have waned -- the baptismal journey's end rather than events where the dead don't even show up to their own funerals. Higgins said the metaphor of going the distance with our dead in meaningful ways is essential. There's a certain weightiness or gravitas when we come in contact with the dead, Higgins said. Whether in a casket or cremated, the body can still be present at the funeral, he said.

Of the 450 families served each year by Hall-Wynne's four locations, a quarter choose cremation for their loved ones, which is in keeping with the national average. Of that, a third of the families have the body present for a service, more than a third have just a memorial service and a small percentage don't have a local service.

According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the average cost of a funeral with burial in 2007, excluding cemetery expenses, was $7,325. The average cremation service was $3,400, but that includes the full range of service options. Hall-Wynne will soon open its own crematory in Durham that will include a witness room and ceremonial area.

The majority of families served by Hall-Wynne's locations in Durham, Pittsboro, Franklinton and Oxford choose customary traditional funerals held in places of worship, the funeral chapel or at the gravesite. Higgins said he has seen positive changes over the years as families express their own individuality. That includes music from bagpipes and harps, remembrance videos, obituaries that tell stories, and personalizing services like having a Harley-Davidson motorcycle next to the casket of a motorcyclist. Higgins said they respect the choices families make about what kind of funerals to have. When it is time for his own funeral, he said that he'll let his family make the decisions.

WHAT: Thomas Long, author of "Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral."

WHEN: 11 a.m. Sunday: Guest preacher, worship service, church sanctuary.

9 a.m. Monday: Discussion and conversation about Christian funerals with Duke professor Allen Verhey, Watts-Hills Hall.

WHERE: First Presbyterian Church, 305 E. Main St., Durham