Rousing tribute to music legend Whitney Houston at star-studded funeral
NEWARK — In a service by turns rousing and poignant, family members, friends and luminaries of the entertainment world Saturday celebrated the life of Whitney Houston, a gifted pop princess who enchanted millions with her talent and yet struggled with the demands of outsized fame.
Nearly 1,500 people streamed into Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church for Houston’s funeral, a 3½-hour "home going service" that blended gospel strains and scripture with personal anecdotes and soaring musical performances.
Houston, a Newark native who died last week at age 48, sang in the junior choir at New Hope as a child. And despite calls for a public funeral, it was at New Hope where Houston’s mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, insisted her daughter be given her farewell.
The Rev. Marvin Winans, a close family friend and Houston’s eulogist, thanked Cissy Houston for her decision, calling it courageous.
"You brought the world to church today," Winans told her.
