ST. LOUIS (AP) — Michael Brown's relatives said goodbye Monday to the 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a police officer, remembering him as a "gentle soul" with a deep and growing faith in Christianity and ambitions that one day "the world would know his name." 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.  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. 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. Brown, who is black, was unarmed when he was shot Aug. 9 in Ferguson,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Lesley McSpadden is comforted during the funeral services for her son Michael Brown on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. 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." "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. Another uncle, pastor Charles Ewing, said in his eulogy that Brown's "blood is crying from the ground, crying for vengeance, crying for justice." The sanctuary, which holds 2,500 people, was filled, and an overflow auditorium was also full. And that's what hurt sooooooo much, that I couldn't protect you but we love you. Race has been at the forefront of the tensions; Brown was African-American, and the officer who shot him is white. Family members and friends reflecting on their memories of "Mike Mike" recalled him saying, "One day, the world will know my name." "We don't want anything tomorrow to happen that might defile the name of Michael Brown," Sharpton said as he stood next to Brown's father on Sunday. It's about the legacy and memory of his son." President Barack Obama sent three White House aides. Jesse Jackson, moviemaker Spike Lee and entertainer Sean Combs, as well as many local and regional civil rights leaders. “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. 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. A tense tranquility 
 
 One sign of a return to normality: Children in the Ferguson-Florissant School District finally started school Monday. He wants to be remembered as the one that made America deal with how we're going to police in the United States."
– 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."