Article

2017-08-30 -Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Joel Osteen said his church is open to Harvey victims after a social media backlash

[CIRCA] Pastor Joel Osteen says his Houston megachurch is not closed to those hurt by Tropical Storm Harvey following social media backlash over its response to the national disaster.

“[We’re] prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity,” he said late Monday, according to ABC News.

“We have never closed our doors,” Osteen added of Lakewood Church. “We will continue to be a distribution center to those in need.”

“Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm in helping our fellow citizens rebuild their lives.”

Posted by Fred 2017-08-30 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ] Top

#1 I'm reading this as more ginned-up outrage (not to be confused with the more respectable gin-fueled outrage).
tl;dr: the church is being dinged for not helping out like they did last time in 2005 with Katrina. Man, deep down those Xtians are really haters, right?

But wait, isn't Lakewood Church in a part of town that floods? (I know, it all floods. but some parts more than others) In fact, if you make it to the end of the article, that's exactly what happened.

Weather nerds will note that Katrina made landfall over by New Orleans and did not hit Houston directly, unlike the present storm. *bleep* social media.

Posted by SteveS 2017-08-30 01:55|| 2017-08-30 01:55|| Front Page Top

#2 From a practical standpoint, most church sanitation systems are not designed for what is being discussed here. At about the 24 hour mark (or possibly less) they could be experiencing a real sanitation and public health emergency.

Posted by Besoeker 2017-08-30 02:02|| 2017-08-30 02:02|| Front Page Top

#3 Steve is correct about the flooding along the area where Lakewood meets (formerly The Summit, where the Rockets played). It goes further though; That building itself took significant flooding during both Rita and Ike.
Some people have asked 'why not the Astrodome'?
Simple. The building has been stripped. The Harris County Sports Authority wants to tear it down, but people keep voting to keep it. So they've made it unusable. For instance, eldest son bought at the auction the actual stadium seats he had season tickets for the Astros games. Mancave stuff.

Posted by ed in texas 2017-08-30 09:09|| 2017-08-30 09:09|| Front Page Top

#4 I saw where some local churches are sending supplies. Firemen and rescue squad members are going to Texas. The Remote Area Medical Volunteer Services ( RAM. ) who are based in Knoxville do a good job of helping people in need. Volunteers.

Posted by JohnQC 2017-08-30 15:04|| 2017-08-30 15:04|| Front Page Top

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