St. Louis (CNN) -- The funeral of slain Ferguson, Missouri, teenager Michael Brown was a celebration of his life, a search for meaning in his death and a battle cry to change policing in America. 
 
 The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered one of two eulogies during the service Monday, and he had sharp words for those who looted stores and clashed with police after the teenager was shot. 
 
 "You don't understand that Michael Brown does not want to be remembered for a riot. He wants to be remembered as the one that made America deal with how we're going to police in the United States." 
 
 With a call to action, Sharpton criticized police who pointed rifles at peaceful protesters in Ferguson. "We have to leave here today and change this," he said. 
 
 He urged mourners at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church to respect the Brown family's wish for silence Monday. And when protests resume, Sharpton said "they've asked for it to be peaceful. If you can't control yourself, then don't do it in Michael's name. Do it in your own name." 
 
 Brown's great-uncle, the Rev. Charles Ewing, drew parallels between the teenager's life, death and Scripture during his eulogy on behalf of the family. 
 
 "Michael Brown's blood is crying from the ground, crying for vengeance, crying for justice," he said. "There is a cry being made from the ground, not just for Michael Brown but for the Trayvon Martins, for those children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, for the Columbine massacre, for the black-on-black crime." 
 
 Family members and friends reflecting on their memories of "Mike Mike" recalled him saying, "One day, the world will know my name." 
 
 "Michael was a big guy, but he was a kind, gentle soul, and before he left this Earth, the day that he was killed, he was out spreading the word of Jesus Christ," a family friend said. 
 
 They urged the crowd of thousands of mourners to "show up at the voting polls," because "we have had enough to of seeing our brothers and sisters killed in the streets." 
 
 "If we had more of this," one family member said, referring to the audience and then motioning to Brown's casket, "we could have less of this. It shouldn't have took this to get us together like this." 
 
 A message of hope to a full sanctuary 
 
 Bishop Edwin Bass of the Church of God in Christ told the Brown family that he, too, lost a child to violence on the streets of St. Louis. 
 
 "While this tragic loss will always be with you, the step-by-step, one foot in front of the other march of time will ultimately bring you to a divine place where you will laugh again, you will find the joy of living again, as your thinking shifts from tragedy to the joyful reflection of good times." 
 
 Michael Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, wiped away tears as she stood at the coffin that holds her son's body. 
 
 She wrote a letter to her son published in the funeral program that said in part, "I never want this to go unsaid, there are no words to express how much you mean to me. A son like you, I thought could never be. Because the day you were born, I just know, God sent me a blessing -- and that was you." 
 
 His father, Michael Brown Sr., wrote his own letter, saying, "I always told you I will never let nothing happen to you. And that's what hurt sooooooo much, that I couldn't protect you but we love you. I will never let you die in my heart, you will always live forever." 
 
 The sanctuary, which holds 2,500 people, was filled, and an overflow auditorium was also full. It was estimated by reporters at the service that another 2,000 people were on church property for the funeral in addition to those in the sanctuary. 
 
 Retired mail carrier Hilliard Phillips, who once delivered on the street where Brown was killed, was among the mourners. He said there's power in numbers, and he hoped the outpouring of support for Brown and his family would spur society to take a look at itself. 
 
 "You can't really overnight change the behavior of a person, but sometimes they can be coerced in a sweet way. ... I would hope they could see people coming together in a solemn way to show their respect to someone," he said. 
 
 Following the service, scores of motorcycles ridden by mourners accompanied the funeral procession that carried Brown's body to St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis. 
 
 T-shirts and buttons memorializing Michael Brown 
 
 Brown's death on August 9 sparked days of sometimes violent protests in the St. Louis suburb and concern over race and police shootings across the country. In the past several days, things have calmed down, and the town is slowly coming back to life. 
 
 Among the guests at the service were Martin Luther King III and the Rev. Bernice King; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; the families of Trayvon Martin and Sean Bell; and celebrities Spike Lee, Diddy and Snoop Lion. 
 
 The White House sent three officials to the funeral. One of them was Broderick Johnson, who leads the White House's My Brother's Keeper Task Force. He was joined by Marlon Marshall, a St. Louis native who attended high school with Brown's mother, and Heather Foster. Marshall and Foster are part of the White House Office of Public Engagement. 
 
 Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, however, did not attend. 
 
 "The governor has communicated to attorneys representing the family of Michael Brown that he will not be attending today's funeral out of respect for the family, who deserve time to focus on remembering Michael and grieving their loss," spokesman Scott Holste said before the service. 
 
 A tense tranquility 
 
 One sign of a return to normality: Children in the Ferguson-Florissant School District finally started school Monday. The first day had been scheduled for August 18 but was delayed a week because of looting and protests, reported CNN affiliate KMOV. 
 
 Two weeks after the shooting sparked violent protests, the mood turned more tranquil over the weekend, with smaller crowds and lots of music. Gone were police in riot gear and defiant protesters. The tear gas, rubber bullets and Molotov cocktails were nowhere to be seen, either. 
 
 In their place were clusters of officers, hanging around businesses, chatting with one another. 
 
 Race has been at the forefront of the tensions; Brown was African-American, and the officer who shot him is white. 
 
 Two investigations -- one federal and one run by state prosecutors -- are in the early stages of trying to determine what led up to the shooting. 
 
 Investigators are grappling with witness statements that include shifting and contradictory stories, and some who appear to be reciting accounts of what they've seen in the media, two law enforcement sources told CNN. 
 
 Complete coverage of Michael Brown's shooting 
 
 Eliott C. McLaughlin reported from St. Louis, and Michael Pearson and Susanna Capelouto reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz, Evan Perez, Aaron Cooper, Faith Karimi and Dana Ford contributed to this report. ||||| ST. LOUIS — His gold-and-black coffin was topped by a baseball cap — a palpable, personal reminder of the young man who was fatally shot by a police officer only weeks ago. But the calls from the pulpit were for Michael Brown’s memory to live on in a broad movement for justice, for voter participation, and for answers to vexing and unending questions about race and policing. 
 
 “There is a cry being made from the ground, not just for Michael Brown, but for the Trayvon Martins, for those children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, for the Columbine massacre, for the black-on-black crime,” the Rev. Charles Ewing, Mr. Brown’s uncle, told 2,500 people packed into the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church here on Monday for a funeral attended by family members but also by people Mr. Brown had never met — celebrities, representatives from the White House, members of Congress, civil rights leaders and hundreds of residents. 
 
 Infused with Scripture and song, the funeral was a mix of intimate reflections and national policy plans. Relatives reminisced in choked voices about Mr. Brown’s wide smile as a picture from his high school graduation flashed on two wide screens, as leaders urged those gathered to memorialize Mr. Brown’s life by carrying forward a vocal, strong and unified effort to seek change across the country. ||||| UPDATED at 6:40 p.m. with the Rev. Al Sharpton coming to St. Louis for Tuesday press conference. 
 
 CLAYTON • A St. Louis County grand jury has reached a decision on whether to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson and officials will reveal it tonight. 
 
 The announcement will be made at 8 p.m. at the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton. 
 
 Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch has pledged that if Wilson is not indicted, most of the evidence presented to grand jurors would be publicly released. An attorney for McCulloch's office says the prosecutor can do that under the Missouri Sunshine Law without a judge's order. 
 
 If there is an indictment, only the charging document would be revealed. 
 
 Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon came to St. Louis to participate in a press conference about Ferguson Monday evening and called for peace. 
 
 Michael Brown's family released a statement Monday afternoon, asking for 4½ minutes of silence in their son's memory. The timing of the silence is intended to symbolize the 4½ hours Brown's body remained on the street in the Canfield Green apartment complex after he was fatally shot. 
 
 The statement: 
 
 “After the grand jury’s decision, we are asking for 4½ minutes of silence to remember why we lift our voices. We are not here to be violent. We are here in memory of our son. We are here for protection of all children. We are here to support justice and equality for all people. We lift our voices to ensure black and brown men, women, and children can live in this country without being devalued because of the color of our skin.” 
 
 The family plans a news conference for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Greater St. Mark Family Church on Chambers Road near Ferguson, said family attorney Anthony Gray. 
 
 “In the meantime, the family wants to continue to urge everyone to remain peaceful, calm and non-violent during these times,” Gray said. 
 
 He said both of Brown’s parents are at their homes now. The mood, he said, is “numb silence.” 
 
 “Anticipation, anxiety is probably at the highest level it could be, without blowing a gasket,” he said. 
 
 According to the website of the National Action Network, the Rev. Al Sharpton will join Brown's family for their scheduled press conference tomorrow on the grand jury decision. He is also scheduled to hold a press conference tonight in New York at 8:15. 
 
 COURTHOUSE CLEARS 
 
 Around 1 p.m., the St. Louis County courthouse in Clayton had started to clear, with several clerks reporting that it was in anticipation of an announcement. Meanwhile, about 15 federal officers were stationed at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis, preparing for any potential unrest. 
 
 The St. Louis circuit court remained busy with activity. Public information officer Thom Gross said the circuit plans to operate as normal, although with the upcoming holiday, this was already a three-day week with no jury trials planned. He said the court has prepared for various contingencies should the situation change. 
 
 Protesters have been preparing to take to the streets if Wilson is not charged in the killing Aug. 9 of Michael Brown, 18. Police, likewise, have been readying a response, and Gov. Jay Nixon has called in the National Guard for extra protection of some locations. 
 
 Officials have said that Wilson ordered Brown and another man to stop walking in the street about noon that day and then realized they fit the description of two men suspected in a theft of cigarillos from a store a short distance away. 
 
 They said Wilson, 28, still in the police SUV, struggled with Brown through the open window and that at least one shot was fired from the officer's pistol, striking Brown in the thumb. 
 
 It is undisputed that Brown then ran and Wilson shot him, although witness accounts to reporters varied about whether Brown was surrendering and whether he was moving back toward the officer when he was hit with six or seven shots. 
 
 The killing triggered weeks of protests that drew international attention to tensions regarding race and police in general. 
 
 MORE COVERAGE 
 
 Grand jury Q&A: jurors can ask questions, seek evidence, take trial votes 
 
 Official autopsy shows Michael Brown had close-range wound to his hand, marijuana in system 
 
 Darren Wilson's radio calls show fatal encounter was brief 
 
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– More than 2,500 mourners crowded Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis this morning to lay Michael Brown to rest, reports the AP, with another 2,000 in overflow seating and national television carrying the 18-year-old's funeral. Brown's casket was closed, with a St. Louis Cardinals cap atop it, notes the Post-Dispatch. His uncle, Bernard Ewing, recalled him as a "big guy, but a kind, gentle soul" in a service that the New York Times calls "deeply religious." The overarching message was one of change, with Brown's family members urging mourners to vote, and the Rev. Al Sharpton saying, "We are required to leave here today and change things. Michael Brown must be remembered for more than disturbances." Michael Brown Sr., wearing a tie bearing his son's image, had yesterday pleaded with protesters for "a day of silence so I can, so we can, lay our son to rest." Other highlights: Among those gathered: Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King III, Spike Lee, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. William Lacy Clay; family members of Trayvon Martin and Sean Bell; three White House representatives. Gov. Jay Nixon declined to attend "out of respect for the family." Sharpton on protesters who turned to violence, as per CNN: "Can you imagine, they're heartbroken, their son taken, discarded, and marginalized, and they have to stop mourning to get you to control your anger, like you're more angry than they are, like you don't understand that Michael Brown does not want to be remembered for a riot." The Rev. Charles Ewing, Brown's uncle who eulogized him: "Michael Brown's blood is crying from the ground, crying for vengeance, crying for justice. There is a cry being made from the ground, not just for Michael Brown, but for the Trayvon Martins, for those children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, for the Columbine massacre, for the black-on-black crime."