SOmebody else prob already answered this.
Sad said that ST was the one who told the pastor DT had recently been saved and would he follow up with her. So, ST and Pastor had conversation, before or after the service or both? Maybe DT had faith but just did not belong to a church, and this is common, isn't it?
Re: church and funeral home.
Funeral home has lists of pastors of churches and works with them extensively. They go over every aspect of the funeral and the church service. The funeral home personnel is present at the service, as the casket must leave the service, etc.
If the church did indeed donate the services, and this is a high profile case, and the church had been informed that mom could not afford a funeral or didn't belong to a church or whatever...it doesn't matter. All funeral homes, churches and pastors follow the same protocols with funerals as I explained previously. A funeral of a child is especially sensitive. They would make sure they had everything beforehand because it is a highly emotional event. They would want to head off any possible outbursts that might occur. ESPECIALLY in a service that would be attended by thousands. THE PASTOR HAD TO KNOW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.
There is a photo somewhere on the web showing DT and the caption is that she was going to make the funeral arrangements. What arrangements did she need to make? What arrangements would you make? Generally, churches of various denominations have standard scriptures, even standard memorial cards (the Lord is my Shepherd, praying hands, poems, "footprints", the Virgin Mary) for people to take. They have contracts with printers who simply put the name of the deceased there. This is all routine. They interview the family and ask about any little personal anctedotes that will make the service meaningful. How does the family want the deceased to be remembered.
Then there is the standard service: opening prayer(s), homilies or sermons, songs, opportunities in some services for people to share memories, communion at some, closing prayers, etc. They go over each and every aspect with family and ask WHO WILL BE INCLUDED IN WHICH PART OF HTE SERVICE...who will follow the casket in and out, who will be pallbearers, everything.
And this is very important: AS PART OF THEIR SERVICES, THE FUNERAL HOMES ALSO PREPARE THE OBITUARIES. AT least they did when I recently lost both my mother and father, I stood there telling the secretary exactly what I wanted placed there. The charge by the line (Dt's would have been free, of course) DT must have made a specific request of THE FUNERAL HOME to edit ST out of the obituary. I can't believe that the funeral home would not have shared this sensitive subject with the Pastor. REMEMBER, IT IS A HUGE VISIBLE CRIME.
So, yes the pastor would have known about ST if he watched media or had been told. But he also would have been clued in by the funeral home. It's a network of people that work very closely together in an intense world.