Deion Sanders, Roy Barnes, Michael Thurmond to speak at Eddie Long's funeral

NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes and DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond, along with Trumpet Awards founder Xernona Clayton and numerous clergymen, are among the very full roster of speakers scheduled to give tributes at today's homegoing service for Bishop Eddie Long.

The longtime senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church died at 63 after battling cancer. His service begins at 10:30 a.m. today and will likely last for hours, if the lengthy funeral program, provided to the AJC by the church is any guide. See pages from the program, below.

Explore We're covering today's service and will be posting live updates here.

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A resolution honoring Long was approved Tuesday in the Georgia Senate.

Senate Resolution 43, sponsored by state Sen. Tonya Anderson, D-Lithonia, calls Long "a person of magnanimous strengths with an unimpeachable reputation for integrity, intelligence, confidence, and kindness, and by the example he made of his life, he made this world a better place in which to live."

Global United Fellowship's Bishop Neil C. Ellis of Nassau, The Bahamas will deliver the eulogy this morning.

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"I knew he was dealing with pancreatic cancer, which is an aggressive form of cancer," he said. "We were praying for a miracle."

"It reinforces all our human vulnerabilities," he said. "We are delivered from 'destination disease.' Learn to live each moment passionately. I've learned to have joy in the journey. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us."

Here are pages from the funeral program: