Whitney Houston funeral to be held at childhood church

Whitney Houston funeral to be held at childhood church

 

It has been confirmed that Singer Whitney Houston will be laid to rest on 18 February in the New Jersey church where she sang as a child.

According to the owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, the funeral will be held at 12:00 EST (17:00 GMT) at the city’s New Hope Baptist Church.

The home’s owner, Carolyn Whigham, said the funeral service would be by invitation only, adding it would be a “private time” for the Houston family.

In her words, “They have shared her for 30 some years with the city, with the state, with the world. This is their time now for their farewell.”

In confirmation, Pastor Joe Carter of New Hope Baptist Church said he will conduct a small invite-only service. According to him, large screens will be set up outside the church by organizers, so people who cannot get inside can see the funeral proceedings.

New Hope's pastor described the late singer’s mother, Cissy Houston as a strong woman who is managing the occurrence with miraculous strength. At her request, the eulogy will be given by Marvin Winans, a gospel singer and pastor at Detroit's Perfecting Church, who officiated Houston's 1992 marriage ceremony to R&B singer Bobby Brown.

Meanwhile, Whitney Houston's family has been urged by American singer, Janet Jackson to consider therapy sessions for the superstar's heartbroken daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown as she mourns the death of her mum.

Jackson, who is still mourning the death of her brother Michael in 2009, insists she knows what it's like to lose a loved one and she's happy to offer up advice for Whitney's daughter.

In her words, "There's never a day, not one day has gone by where I don't think about my brother. It sounds so mean, but you have to move on. You can't hold onto that because it can be very devastating... sometimes therapy is the best thing.”

Janet Jackson, on revealing her thoughts about the tragedy stated that she couldn’t help thinking about the teenager, who was hospitalized and treated for stress and anxiety at the weekend.

But she can only imagine that Bobbi Kristina's grief is much greater than her own: "I lost my brother, she lost her mother. There's a difference and I don't know what that's like being so young."

Whitney Houston, 48, was found dead Saturday in her suite at the upscale Beverly Hilton, just hours before she was scheduled to attend a pre-Grammy bash at the hotel. Why she died remains a mystery.