Community Corner

Whitney Houston Celebrated in Rousing Funeral Service

Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Oprah Winfrey, Kevin Costner, Gov. Christie, Mayor Booker all in attendance.

Newark's own, singer Whitney Houston, was welcomed home to the church where she began her singing career Saturday, in a rousing gospel-flavored funeral service before an audience of family, friends and celebrities.

"Whitney, today is your day," the Rev. Joe A. Carter, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, said in beginning the service.

A powerful choir of more than 100 singers, backed by a band that included drums and bass and horns, provided an emotional backdrop to a procession of singers, most of them from the world of gospel music.

Find out what's happening in Freeholdwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry spoke of what he termed the grace that carried Houston through her life. "There was a grace that carried her down through Miss Cissy Houston, a grace that brought her up through singing," Perry said. "There was a grace that kept on carrying all the way through."

Gospel singer Bebe Winans remembered an encounter with Houston as the two prepared to set out on a tour. He met Whitney in her closet, he said, which he described as being larger than the church. She told him she had bought uniforms for the band, a cream-colored suit for him and dresses for herself and other singers. "But this is not a material relatioship, Whitney," he said he protested. "She said, 'Ya'll broke, right?," Winans said, as the audience roared with laughter. "And I'm rich, right? So I can buy what I want to for yall, right?' And that is Whitney," Winans concluded.

Find out what's happening in Freeholdwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Actor Kevin Costner, who co-starred with Houston in "The Bodyguard," remembered the surprising stories the two shared about growing up in the church, where his grandmother led the choir.

Alicia Keys remembered Houston's friendship, and how she had reached out to many younger singers.

The audience for the invitation-only service included a star-studded guest list including Costner, Warwick and Keys, as well as music world luminaries Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Roberta Flack and Stevie Wonder. Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were also in attendance. Houston's godmother, Aretha Franklin, had to cancel her appearance because of health problems.

A motorcade escorting the Houston family arrived at the church shortly before noon.

Just after the gold hearse carrying Houston's body arrived at the Sussex Avenue church around 10 a.m., the Rev. Jesse Jackson emerged to a crush of media stationed on Nesbitt Street, calling the late singer one of the most talented performers of her time.

"She was just tremendous New Jersey talent," Jackson told local reporters. "She's in the gallery of greats in this state."

Houston, who was born in Newark and grew up in East Orange, became a local star singing in the youth gospel choir at New Hope Baptist Church, where mother Cissy Houston was a choirmaster.

Just after Houston's casket arrived, a procession of vehicles made its way down Dey Street to a parking lot located directly across the Sussex Avenue side of the church. A few dozen mourners then began filing into New Hope as SWAT Team officers stationed on a rooftop across the church looked on.

Georgetown University professor and author Michael Eric Dyson, who had just come from Whigham Funeral Home, where Houston's body has been kept since it arrived late Monday night, said the ceremony was "not a concert."

"This is a dignified celebration of her life, which means it has to have a certain decorum," he said.

Fans, some as far away as North Carolina, began amassing behind police barricades in the blocks surrounding Houston's childhood church holding t-shirts and posters memorializing the singer. Most were disappointed that they weren't allowed near the church, which was closed off by a radius of several blocks in each direction.

"I wished fans could get closer," said Bebe Reid, a 10-year resident of Newark. "She was an unparalleled artist. I pray she's in peace. In spite of her problems, she was a gift."

As dawn broke Saturday over Newark, gleaming light poured over New Hope Baptist, where a few fans spent the final minutes before police closed off the block tucking mementoes, balloons and pictures into the church's wrought iron fence.

Flower arrangements dotted a lower floor inside the church where Houston first sang in the youth gospel choir decades ago. A heart-shaped arrangement of white roses were signed by Franklin, Houston's godmother, while an elaborate piece spelled out "Greatest Love of All," one of Houston's hit songs, in red roses. Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles, had sent over a leafy bouquet, and Grambling University, the historically black college, sent an arrangement as well.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here