Whitney Houston Memorialized in a Moving Tribute at the New Hope Baptist Church on Saturday

Beloved musical icon and six-time Grammy Award winner Whitney Houston was memorialized in an invitation-only "home-going" service at the New Hope Baptist Church on Saturday, February 18 in Newark, NJ. It was at that church that a young Whitney got her start singing in the gospel choir. The service was televised around the world.

Related article: New details emerge about Whitney Houston's funeral service

Related article: Stars remember Whitney Houston on Grammys Red Carpet

In attendance were Whitney's 18-year-old daughter Bobbi Kristina, mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, and friends Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey, among many others. Whitney's ex-husband Bobby Brown attended as well, but left early after he was told he could not see his daughter. Later that night, during a New Edition concert, Brown pointed to the sky and told the crowd, "I want to give blessings to my ex-wife. I love you."

According to the Associated Press, Cissy Houston wrote in the funeral program, "I thank God for the beautiful flower he allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years."

Reverend Jesse Jackson, who is friends with the Houston family and knew Whitney since she was a child, told the press outside the church, "We feel such awesome pain. I watched her grow up singing in the church choir under the leadership of Rev. [Charles] Thomas. Whitney was one of the outstanding voices of our time."

Kevin Costner, Whitney's co-star in the 1992 film The Bodyguard, gave a heartfelt eulogy to Whitney. "A lot of men could have played [my] role," he said. "But you, Whitney, were the only person who could have played Rachel Marron. I was your pretend bodyguard once. And now you're gone too soon."

Whitney's longtime friend and mentor Clive Davis said in his speech, "You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime. You wait for a face like that, a smile like that, a presence like that for a lifetime. When one person embodies it all, it takes your breath away."

Tyler Perry also spoke. “There are two constants that I know about Whitney Houston," he said. "There was a grace that carried, a grace that carried her down from heaven through Miss Cissy Houston, a grace that brought her up through singing.”

Some of Whitney's talented musician friends performed emotional musical numbers at the service. Stevie Wonder, who told the mourners that he had a "crush" on Whitney, sang Ribbon in the Sky, while Alicia Keys performed Send Me an Angel. Unfortunately, Aretha Franklin, who was previously reported to be performing at the service, had to cancel at the last minute, due to "leg spasms and locked leg muscles."

The following day, Houston's body was carried in a gold hearse to the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, NJ. ABC News reported that, "A small procession of limos followed the hearse carrying her casket as it headed toward the cemetery with a police-escorted motorcade." Whitney's body was buried beside her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003.

Did you watch the memorial service? What were the most moving parts in your opinion?

Photo courtesy of Pacific Coast News