of whitney houston. today. [ applause ] . opening the service, joe carter pastor of the new hope baptist church in newark, new jersey, the church that houston grew up. the four horse that fold were mournful, reverent and ultimately joyous. there was a grace that carried. a grace that carried her from heaven down through mr. houston, a grace that brought her up from speaking. from what i understand she wasn t supposed to speak let alone sing. there was a grace that carried her through. the same grease led her all the way to the top of the charts. sold all of these albums and just done some amazing things, won all these awards. she sang for presidents and there was a grace that kept on carrying her. fans will get to see whitney houston performing new music in the film sparkle scheduled for release this summer. one of her last projects before her untimely death. bishop t.d. jakes produced the movie and was sure that houston was poised for a come back. don t you dare th