for me. ♪ i look to >> god wanted me now, he set me free. ♪ jesus loves me for the bible tells me so ♪ i love you, whitney. hello, i'm fredricka whitfield live at the cnn headquarters in atlanta. my colleague don lemon joins us live from outside the new hope baptist church in newark, site

of today's services for whitney houston in about 60 seconds or so from now. first, a final good-bye to a music legend at the place where it all began for her. a spirited tribute that was all things at once, mournful, joyous, moving, a celebration of the life of whitney houston. ♪ what god gives is never a coincidence ♪ >> stevie wonder, one of her famous friends saluting her during the funeral service at houston's hometown church in newark, new jersey. alicia keys, r. kelly, c.c. wines. tyler perry and kevin costner told of personal stories in memory of the superstar. aretha franklin was scheduled to be there, but had to cancel because she wasn't feeling well. the service included a letter

from houston's daughter bobbi kristina and her mother cissy houston. it read in part, ♪ god said it's time. your work is done. thanks for being such a wonderful daughter." as for houston's ex-husband bobby brown, he was there for a while. he says in a written statement, he wasn't happy about being asked to move three times and says security kept him from seeing his daughter bobbi kristina. he left because, quote, i refuse to create a scene. ♪ i'm not what you need >> in all it was a four-hour home going tribute. punctuating the service today, a recording of houston's "i will always love you" as pallbearers carried her casket out. ♪ i will always love you >> the pastor who gave houston's eulogy told her mother that she took the world to church today by having her daughter's service

at home in newark. it was indeed a celebration of life. a private ceremony shared with the public. our own don lemon has been at the church all day today. this was very personal. those who spoke or even sang really did pour their hearts out today, didn't they? >> reporter: they did. i saw your e-mail when you said it was great. you were explaining about what a moment going is. this is what happens almost every sunday in the black baptist church. this is what happens when we send people home. the world got to see that. i have to tell you, fred, on twitter i saw people saying, you know what, don, this is amazing. people get to see how we worship. in many ways, it validates what many african-americans, how we praise and worship and the world got to see that. i want to go to the bishop t.d.

jakes. it renewed my faith and renewed a lot of people's faith around the country. that is definitely something worth saying and worth knowing about. >> you know, it was an amazing service. very powerful, very spirited. because of the influence and magnitude of who whitney houston was, people who normally would not watch the service were able to watch it and be many packeted, be inspired and be renewed. i think the church shines at its best when people are often at their worst bay it is then we really fulfill the idea that we are a hospital for the hurting souls of humanity. i think that's what we saw today. >> reporter: imagine when everyone says what good can come of this, imagine if the good is that more people because of this church service, because of whitney houston beings because of cissy houston, that more

people came to god or came to faith because of what, because of today, seeing this globally? >> that may be the end result of it. as the winans sung, tomorrow is not promised to us. whenever we see somebody die prematurely, it drives home the fact we don't know the day nor the hour which any of us for any reason could find ourselves in similar straits. it was a good reflection. it made you want to hold the people you love more closely. it made you reevaluate your priorities and where is god in your life and how important is he in your life? and maybe some of us who are really really blessed need to take more time to give thanks to god and put our priorities, as pastor winans said, into the proper perspective. >> reporter: i was going to say

in a live shot before, wherever you are loved ones are you will contact them or hug them because you never know when the time will come. we watched tyler perry become a preacher and watching kevin costner become a preacher. these aren't venues we are used to seeing those people in. they rose to the occasion which shows a lot of people around the world about versatility and being able to be your best when you're called to be your best. >> you know, i think it goes a step deeper than that. it speaks to the fact that many, many people we don't see in church settings all the time have got spiritual roots that are underestimated. i wasn't surprise d. i thought kevin costner was amazing as an orator. most actors don't orate that well independent of having scripted lines. yet he wrote it and spoke so eloquently in an unusual

situation. as he began to inform it wasn't unusual for him. like whitney houston he grew up in church. tyler perry likewise. he maintained his relationships with the church, throughout the process. though he was amazing, i'm well aware he looks to god. everybody needs to take a deeper look to god and to faith and consider making a real commitment to christ. these are turbulent times all of us face, whether you're the haves or have-nots. for one reason or another, life puts new situations that human hands can't help you. >> reverend, i have to say i follow you on social immediate contract and i've been following social media all day. whitney cnn has been trending on twitter all day. as many speakers were speaking, especially you, when you would say something, on twitter it would go and let the church say

amen or they would say shout or preach. it was amazinamazing. i felt like there was a church service going on in social media. >> it's a new day. people are so appreciative of the technology, it enables us to participate in events we would not be able to otherwise participate. in it's great we are able to watch it on c nfnn. to be able to chime in and let our voices be heard is how we do church. it's not a monologue, it's a dialogue. the congregation is talking to them. i don't think it's limited to african-americans. we might have been the origin or impetus of it, but i think other cultures are starting to be less formal and more participatory as we have a younger generation that wants to express

themselves. >> less churchy, as you say. i want to talk about cissy houston and bobbi kristina. everyone was saying poor whitney, but she is gone and no longer suffering. her family, cissy houston and bobbi kristina, what they have to deal with over the coming days, weeks, months, maybe even years. this he have a family around them for support, but it's going to be hard for a while for them. >> i told cissy and whitney's daughter before i left, i said, i'm only a phone call away. i'm not their pastor, but i told them anything i can do to help in any way, i would be glad to do that. one of the great things about church people is that we do come together in a crisis. my heart goes out to all of the family that's hurting. each one in a unique way. all of them lost something different. yet, i think this is a time they really need our support. the thing that blew my mind

about cissy is that she was incredibly strong. i prayed with her over the phone. she was shocked, hurt and weeping. i expected her to be emotional ly debilitated. of course she shed tears, but she was very strong. i applaud whitney's daughter. she did such an incredible job standing up to something that is unimaginably painful. until you lost your mother, a mother you have a very close relationship with, you would never imagine what that does to you emotionally to find yourself motherless in this world. i thought the whole family was incredibly courageous. >> can you say something to the audience, the houston family, to the friends all around the world and the fans that will give us some comfort?

>> i would like to say to the fans around the world, i've already spoken to the family, but the fans around the world that may be hurting today, let's use every lesson we can learn from whitney's life to impact our own families, to develop our own spirituality, to love people, even if they're not perfect. even if they are flawed in some way. love them and embrace them because tomorrow they may be gone. >> let the world say amen. bishop jakes, thank you. appreciate it. >> always a pleasure, don. have a great one. >> fredericka, no more fitting way to end that interview than what he said to the world there. you're my friend, i am so happy to see you and happy you're in my life. i have to say that to all my loved ones and family watching. this renew made faith. it would be, wouldn't it be great if out of all of this, and i know i'm being optimistic here that some good could come of it

and people be more positive about their loved ones. >> no doubt people have been touched all week long. today it really did punctuate and take to a whole other level how whitney houston's life, how the eulogies, how the words of so many people who loved her came out today to honor her life, how that may have touched people in so many different ways. among them, corey booker, the mayor of newark, was there. he said he was honored to be there. it was a privilege for him to be there. to really celebrate. he said, in his words, we are here to mourn our loss, but here to celebrate her life. you spent an awful lot of time outside that new hope baptist church today. and spent a lot of time with people who did not have an invitation to being inside, but they felt it was important to be there to honor whitney houston, a real daughter of the community what did they tell new large part as to why they felt

compelled to be there even if they couldn't be inside the church? >> they didn't get as many people as they thought were going to come out because they had been saying, police had been discouraging people to come out and they did a good job of that. there were few fans who were at the perimeters, which was blocks away. to my left there is a neighborhood, the neighborhood right in front of this church. there were people playing loud music, whitney houston songs. to be quite honest with you, about this particular neighborhood and how this church is a beacon of home in this neighborhood, where we are sitting, where the platform is for the media, hundreds of media from all over the world, we are on the property of an abandoned housing project. the neighborhood around here is blighted. homes are gone, many torn down, yet this new hope baptist church stands as a beacon in the middle of a blighted neighborhood and is the hope here that this neighborhood can rise from the ashes.

we are in newark which suffered so much distress from crack cocaine, drugs in the 1980s and crime, but this one church is standing here. in 1967 when they had the newark riot. this church was a meeting place and stood, withstood that. you heard one of the reverends here talk about this church and this particular neighborhood and why the houston family chose to stay at this church and chose to be apart of this church. it means a lot. >> even when the family moved away. >> it means a lot to the community. >> even when the family moved away from the neighborhood, they continued to call this new hope baptist church their home. don, thanks so much. we'll check back with you later on in the hour. of course, there is much more. film maker and friend tyler perry delivers a moving eulogy. later, kevin costner shares his memory while they worked on the movie "the bodyguard."

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welcome back to our split programming. i'm in atlanta and my colleague don lemon is in newark, new jersey. what's unique about this day, don, and this tribute to whitney houston, we heard from people who admitted to not knowing her that well. t.d. jakes among those, producing "sparkle" is when he developed a friendship, a

relationship with whitney houston. we heard from people who have known her all her life, kim burrell. the common thread is all of them talked about her eloquence, her grace, her charity with her heart and her kindness. there was a feeling of love in that house of new hope baptist church. i think it was transmitted quite fluidly beyond the confines of that church today. >> absolutely. you said, i think a great word you said was "eloquence." one of the most eloquent people i saw today was actor, director, producer, mogul tyler perry who talked about his friend. he hasn't known whitney houston that long, but he gave a very poignant speech and thoughts about whitney houston today. let's listen to tyler perry. >> there are two constants i know about whitney houston.

there was a grace that carried. a grace that carried her from heaven down through miss cissy houston. a grace that brought her up through singing. from what i understand, she wasn't even supposed to be able to speak let alone sing because of an incident that happened to her as a child. there was a grace that kept carrying her all the way through. the same grace led her all the way to the top of the charts, sold all these albums and done amazing things, won all these awards. she sang for presidents. there was a grace that kept on carrying her. the other thing i know for sure, and this is more important than anything she's ever done in her life, whitney houston loved the lord. in every conversation we had over these years, it was evident she loved the lord. when i think about her, there is a scripture that keeps burning in my heart. i keep thinking about apostle

paul in romans, "i am persuaded nothing shall separate me from the love of god." what i know is that nothing separated her from the love of god. if you look at what paul was saying, he was describing her life perfectly. "neither height, no matter how far she went in the stratosphere, nothing separated her. neither height nor death, no matter how much struggle. no matter what she had to walk through, it wasn't enough to separate her from the love of god nor principalities nor power, nor things to come. nothing was able to separate her from the love of god. so what i know about her is that she loved the lord. if there was a grace that carried her all the way through, it was the same grace that carried her home. >> you know, that was lyrics to

one of the best songs i think whitney houston ever sung and that was "i love the lord." let me tell you something about tyler perry. i don't think he would mind me sharing this. whenever there is something that happens, going through something in the news that comes up about me, tyler perry will find me and say, are you okay, do you need anything? do you need support? he not only does that to me, but does that to many people coming up in this business. he is a mentor. today we got to see the side of tyler perry not many people get to see. great guy. >> very few people thought he had that pastor in him. thanks, don. not all of whitney's friends could make it to today's funeral in new jersey. chili shares her memories of working with the superstar and her bond with bobbi kristina. that's next. the reverend kim burrell who personalized one of whitney's

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newark, new jersey, ended just over an hour ago. among the 1,500 mourners, stars of stage and film who paid tribute, but not all of whitney's friends could make it to new jersey today. earlier i talked with chili, a member of the r&b group tlc. she appeared in houston's video "i'm every woman." she explains how in many ways she was inspired by whitney. >> i was very lucky, too, to have known her. i remember the first time i met her. she was like the first superstar i had ever met once i got in the business. i was just like -- >> awe-struck? >> that's whitney houston. when we first met her, she was just so sweet. she wasn't standoffish or anything. she just made us feel like we

had all known each other forever. >> that surprised you about her? >> it did because i didn't know any celebrities. in meeting her, i was just like, wow. in my mind, i'm like we are going to be big, too. i want to be like that, just humble, you know? that's how she was. i hate saying "was" like when my sister passed away, it took me about three years to be able to say, to talk about her in past tense. i just couldn't do it. it was really, really hard. it takes me back there. this is too soon, you know? >> just 48. when you look at the photograph of you and whitney, this is about early '90s, brandi. just looking at that, that strikes what memories?

look how young in your careers you all appear. >> i know. babies. like i say, i have so many memories. i remember having a halloween party and whitney, bobby and bobbi kristina just walked in like, hey. she doesn't need an invitation, obviously, for anything. she just came in and was just like mingling with everybody. she wasn't off in some corner doing her thing. i love the relationship, we talked about this before, between she and bobbi kristina. >> what did you see in that relationship? >> very protective and loving. >> both ways? >> both ways. which reminds me so much of my relationship with my mother. i'm very protective. my mom always says, hello, daughter. she reminds me, you're the

daughter, i'm the mommy. >> some daughters can be like that with their mom. >> my son is that way with me. i totally can relate, you know? that's exactly how their relationship was. they were very close. >> how did you see that in bobbi kristina, that she would be very protective of her mom? >> you have to keep in mind, you know, whitney houston is one of the biggest stars ever. she was an angel, as far as i'm concerned. on top of that being her mother and then she is this mega superstar, she was very protective of her as she should have been. i thought that was very normal because you don't know what someone is going to say. people say all kinds of stuff. it can get to you. it was sweet to see, almost kind of like you said bobbi kristina was the mom sometimes.

protecting her mother. i thought their relationship was very beautiful. >> did you see that grow and evolve as bobbi kristina got older? >> yes, i did. i totally did. i remember when bobbi kristina was just like a baby. when whitney was pregnant, i was like a leech on her stomach. i don't know if i just love pregnant women, but every night before going on stage i would go to her dressing room. it was like a ritual thing like brushing my teeth. >> you had that incredible opportunity to tour with whitney houston. >> yeah. it was the bobby brown tour. she was on the road with him. i'm telling you, every night i would go and hug on her stomach and shake her stomach so that the baby would move and kick and all this kind of stuff. she would just laugh. she would let me do it. she was so sweet. >> that was chilli of tlc.

much more from the funeral ahead this hour including her co-star in "the bodyguard," kevin costner. they had a friendship and spiritual connection few knew about before today. first alicia keys in a tearful performance for the singer she called an angel. ♪ it's a long long way to heaven ♪ ♪ but i've got to get there ♪ can you send an angel ♪ can you send an angel dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

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whitney houston went home today. an emotional tribute to one of music's all-time greatest singers in the church she group up in. ♪ and i will always love you >> a recording of her voice singing her biggest hit "i will always love you" as pallbearers carried her casket.

alicia keys, stevie wonder, tyler perry, kevin costner told personal stories in memory of the superstar. aretha franklin was scheduled to be there, but had to cancel because she wasn't feeling well. the service included a letter from houston's daughter bobbi kristina and her mother cissy houston. it read in part, "god said it's time. your work is done. thanks for being such a wonderful daughter." as for houston's ex-husband bobby brown, he was there for a while. he says in a written statement later that he wasn't happy about being asked to move three times and says security kept him from seeing his daughter bobbi kristina, so he left, because, quote, i refused to create a scene." more on the coverage of the whitney houston funeral momentarily. let's look at the weather picture for the new workweek. jacqui jeras in the weather center. what's going on?

>> we've got a lot of storms. all along the gisk and throughout the southeast. we have the threat of flooding rains as well as tornados and watches still in effect at this hour from new orleans stretching all the way over to the panhandle of florida. this watch over here which includes new orleans in effect until 5:00 local time this. watch here until 9:00 central time. we had a number of tornado warnings. mobile county under a warning. this is a doppler radar indicated tornado. these lines of storms also bring the threat of damaging winds. winds on the range of 50, 60 miles per hour. the rainfall rates have just been amazing. take a look at a couple of these numbers from earlier today. more than three inches. when you get that much rain in a short period of time, we've got a lot of roads which are closed now because they are covered with water. we could see an additional one

to two inches on top of what you have. this weather system will move up to the north and east and will catch up with cold air from the midwest. we'll start to see this rain transition to snow. especially across the central appalachians. d.c. you might get in on the northern fringe of this, but certainly under an inch. this storm will exit off the coast by monday morning. this is a weekend event for everybody. just to detail a little bit better where we are expecting the heaviest snow accumulation, and there you can see less than two inches in places like d.c. and over towards the norfolk area. we have a storm system out west bringing heavy snow into the cascades. will move into the wasatch range across ports of utah tomorrow. lots of snow. >> thanks, jacqui, appreciate that. the turmoil in syria is creeping closer to bashar assad.

the president met today with china's vice foreign minister who endorsed the plan to hold a referendum on a new constitution. a peaceful end to this conflict seems increasingly unlikely. this video is from the city of homs. it's said to show the syrian military in action. cnn cannot confirm the authenticity. for president al aassad, the most troubling development may be an outburst of violence today in damascus. >> reporter: interesting insight after people feel after 11 months of inrest. in the capital damascus, a funeral for people killed by security forces turned into a protest which syrian security forces opened fire. you can hear that particular moment just now. these scenes help give you an

idea how the unrest is going within the capital. economic hardships, general see of a country while this bitter, bloody conflict plays out. organizers suggesting it could have been 15,000 people at this particular protest. there will be many after this harsh response by syrian security forces, questioning the future of the regime, wondering where this goes next peyton walsh, cnn, beirut. next, other special moments from whitney houston's funeral, including an emotional eulogy by kevin costner sharing his memories of whitney while working on the movie "the bodyguard." [ woman ] my husband, hank, was always fun.

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costner approached her about starring in the movie "the bodyguard." in his touching tribute, he talked about the struggle to convince the studio to take a chance on her, and convincing whitney herself that she was good enough for the part. >> it's a tree we can all hang

from, the inexplainable burden that comes from fame. call it doubt. call it fear. i've had mine and i know the famous in the room have had theirs. i asked her to trust me and she said she would. a half hour later she went back in to do her screen test and the studio fell in love with her. the whitney i knew despite her success and worldwide fame still wondered, "am i good enough?" "am i pretty enough?" will they like me? it was the burden that made her great, and the part that caused her to stumble in the end. whitney, if you could hear me now, i would tell you, you weren't just good enough. you were great. you sang the whole damn song

without a band. you made the picture what it was. a lot of leading men could have played my part, a lot of guys, a lot of guys could have filled that role, but you, whitney, i truly believe you were the only one that could have played rachel marron at that time. you weren't just pretty. you were as beautiful as a woman could be. people didn't just like you, whitney. they loved you. i was your pretend bodyguard once, not so long ago, and now you're gone. too soon, leaving us with memories, memories of a little girl who stepped bravely in front of this church, in front of the ones that loved you

first, in front of the ones that loved you best and loved you the longest. then boldly you stepped into the white hot light of the world stage. and what you did is the rarest of achievements. you set the bar so high that professional singers, your own colleagues, they don't want to sing that little country song. what would be the point? now the only ones who sing your songs are young girls like you who are dreaming of being you some day. and so to you bobbi kristina and all those young girls who are dreaming that dream that may be thinking they aren't good enough, i think whitney would tell you, guard your bodies and

guard the precious miracle of your own life, and then sing your hearts out knowing that there's a lady in heaven who is making god himself wonder how he created something so perfect. so off you go, whitney. off you go. escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly father. when you sing before him, don't you worry. you'll be good enough. next, you'll hear heart-felt words from whitney houston's music producer and mentor clive

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whitney houston's long-time producer and mentor clive davis today remembered the woman he worked with for nearly 30 years. davis said whitney was more than pure talent, but true heart and soul, as well. >> whitney lived music. whitney loved music. in fact, this was her world and she was so glad that we were back, and that's why i'm talking

about the professional whitney today. without knowing of her love of music, her passion and her absolutely natural genius in interpreting songs, you certainly don't know all of whitney houston. personally, all i can say is that i loved her very much. whitney was purely and simply one-of-a-kind. yes, she admitted to crises in her life. yes, she confessed to oprah about her searing battles. but when i needed her she was there. [ applause ] she was there for me. an eternally loyal friend. whatever the cause or event she

was there dominating the stage, stunning the audience and creating still another lifetime memory. "i believe in you and me" she sang. looking me straight in the eye. showing she knew we always been in it together. yes, i was her industry father. and i was and am so proud of it. and bobbi kristina, you too always, always be proud of your mother. she loved you so very much. [ applause ] she defined not only pure talent, but true heart and soul

as well. she will forever be looking after you and will never let go of your hand. when we come back we'll take a look at some of the other stories making headlines including iranian navy ships reportedly passing through the suez canal and into the mediterranean sea.

checking our headlines. the world watches as whitney houston's family and friends said good-bye. a funeral service was held for the superstar at her home town church in new york, new jersey. so many famous faces were on hand. iranian navy ships including a destroyer have reportedly passed through the suez canal and into the mediterranean sea. a deployment one year ago as seen here stirred fears in israel and other nations. iranian news agency quotes an admiral as saying the deployment is meant to show friendship and support for countries in the region and to display iran's military resolve. presidential politics now. republican hopeful rick santorum is mocking mitt romney's role in

turning around the olympics in 1972. romney's solution the office ask congress for millions of dollars in federal earmarks. santorum makes mitt romney a hypocrite. romney criticized santorum for bringing 0 home earmarks. >> stevie wonder said whitney houston loved his song ribbon in the sky. so he we wrote the lyrics for the occasion.

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>> thanks for much for watching this afternoon. i'm fredricka whitfield. don lemon will be here at 7:00 eastern time. situation room is up next. for now we leave you with stevie wonder with a special rendition of "ribbon in the sky." he said it was one of whitney' favorites. ♪ one day in 1963 ♪ we were blessed