Whitney Houston Funeral at Childhood Home Church, New Hope Baptist, By Invite Only on Saturday February 18, 2012

Although we reported earlier that there would be a large public ceremony for Whitney Houston, who died this past weekend, we must now report that the decision has been made to have the service at her childhood church, New Hope Baptist Church , and will be by invitation only. According to the Associated Press:

the owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark said Tuesday that there will be no public memorial at Newark’s Prudential Center, the sports arena that Houston’s family had discussed as a possible venue. The funeral service will be by invitation only, Carolyn Whigham said, reflecting the family’s desire to keep the memorial more personal.

Houston was born in Newark and began singing as a child at the New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music program for many years. Cousin Dionne Warwick also sang in its choir.

This weekend’s Grammy Awards saw a number of tributes and we expect this funeral will be a beautiful celebration to an incredible talent who will be sorely missed.