Pastor Joe Carter said the service will be a 'musical
celebration of Whitney Houston's life'
Aretha Franklin 'too ill' to sing
Around 1,500 guests expected to attend
Star will not be buried until tomorrow
Kim Burrell will sing I Believe In You And Me - Whitney's
favourite song
Singers Mary J Blige, Brandy and the singer's boyfriend Ray J
are the first celebrities to arrive………
Fan: Renee Taylor, of Baltimore, Maryland, stands with a sign a few blocks from the New Hope Baptist Church before the funeral of Whitney Houston where fans gathered to pay their last respects
Whitney Houston's
flower-covered casket arrived this morning at the church where her powerful
voice first wowed a congregation as family made final preparations to remember
the pop superstar in her hometown.
Mourners at the New Hope Baptist Church, including the Rev Jesse
Jackson, fell quiet as three police officers escorted Houston's silver casket,
draped with white roses and purple lilies, a couple of hours before the
service.
White-robed choir members began to fill the pews on the podium. As the
band played softly, the choir sang in a hushed voice, Whitney, Whitney,
Whitney'.
Ray J - who was thought to have been dating Whitney when she died -
sister Brandy and singer Mary J. Blige were some of the first celebrities to
arrive at the church. They were followed soon after by Forest Whitaker and
Queen Latifah.
It is thought
the Houston family arrived in four limousines and were given a police escort
with motorcycle outriders and two police cars at the front and the back of
their convoy.
Hand-clapping choirs performed traditional gospel songs including
Grateful, by Hezekiah Walker, as more and more celebrities filled the pews of
the New Jersey church. Whitney's former husband Bobby Brown arrived shortly
before noon. It was reported earlier this week that the singer's family had
banned him from attending the service.
But on account of his connection with daughter Bobbi Kristina, he was
later told he would be able to pay his last respects to the star - who he was
married to for 15 years.
According to CNN, guests held in their hands an invitation with a cover
featuring a photo of a smiling Houston. The six-page funeral program contained
color family photos and a note from Cissy Houston, the singer's mother.
The family prepared a service where singer Dionne Warwick, Houston's
cousin, music mogul Clive Davis, who shepherded Houston's career for decades,
actor Kevin Costner and sister-in-law Patricia Houston were to speak.
Stevie Wonder,
Alicia Keys, R. Kelly and gospel stars CeCe and Bebe Winans are expected to
sing. Houston's voice, a recording of her biggest hit, I Will Always Love You,
is expected to be played at the end.
Close family friend Aretha Franklin, whom Houston lovingly called Aunt
Ree, was expected to sing at the service, but she is too ill to attend, said a
person close to the Houston family who was not authorized to talk about
Franklin's decision and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rev Jackson confirmed to CNN she would not be singing: 'She was at a
tremendous event last night at Radio City [Music Hall]. She was up much of the
night hosting guests, she had leg spasms.
'She's all right, but she can't do that and reconcile this with her
feelings and her schedule.
Alicia Keys is expected to step in for her.
The service marks exactly one week after the 48-year-old Houston -- one
of music's all-time biggest stars -- was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel in
California. A cause of death has yet to be determined.
To the world, Houston was the pop queen with the perfect voice, the
dazzling diva with regal beauty, a troubled superstar suffering from addiction
and, finally, another victim of the dark side of fame.
To her family and friends, she was just Nippy. A nickname given to
Houston when she was a child, it stuck with her through adulthood and, later,
would become the name of one of her companies. To them, she was a sister, a
friend, a daughter, and a mother.
'She always had the edge,' Rev Jackson said outside the church on
Saturday. 'You can tell when some kids have what we call a special anointing.
Aretha had that when she was 14. Whitney cultivated that and took it to a very
high level.
'The memories are so powerful, the music will be with us forever. We have
a lot to rejoice about. Today we praise, we preach and we appreciate.
'Whitney had that special something.'
Elton John, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and Jay-Z, actor-producer Tyler Perry
and American Idol musical director Rickey Minor were all expected to attend
Saturday's invitation-only service. Her ex-husband Bobby Brown also is expected
to attend, along with the couple's only child, Bobbi Kristina.
According to the invitation issued to the singer's friends and family,
the ceremony will be seen as a 'going home' service rather than a funeral.
The invitation, featuring a picture of the smiling star that appears to
date back to the peak of her success in the early 1990s, states: 'With
heartfelt gratitude, the Houston family requests the honour of your presence at
the home going service for Whitney Elizabeth Houston.'
Pastor Joe Carter, who will read the scripture, said the service will be
a musical celebration of Whitney Houston's life.
Houston's South Orange grade-school principal Henry Hamilton said
outside the funeral home: 'It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining, she's up
there, this is Whitney's day.'
RIP Whitney !!! ALLLL the Ladies @ SOSEXY FASHION will miss you dearly!!!!! “SAD”
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