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<title>	Hurricane Harvey: Evangelist Joel Osteen denies closing Houston megachurch to Harvey evacuees | 						AL.com</title>


	
	

	
	
	
	
																																											
	

	
																																											

	
		
	
	
	

	
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                <h1 id="articleHeadline" class="p-name">Hurricane Harvey: Evangelist Joel Osteen denies closing Houston megachurch to Harvey evacuees</h1>
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                    <span class="dateline__updated">Updated <time datetime="2017-08-29T13:07:54" aria-label="Article updated date and time">August 29, 2017 at  1:07 PM</time>;</span>
                    
                    <span class="dateline__published">Posted <time datetime="2017-08-29T10:14:58" aria-label="Article published date and time">August 29, 2017 at 10:14 AM</time></span>
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            By <a id="byline__authorLink" href="http://connect.al.com/staff/LeadaGore/posts.html" title="Visit Leada Gore's Author Page">Leada Gore</a></p>
    
        
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        <div id="asset-23321463" class="entry_widget_large entry_widget_right"><span class="adv-photo-large"><a href="http://media.al.com/news_impact/photo/Joel Olsteen.JPG" target="_blank" class="full-size-popup"><img src="/static/common/img/blank.gif" class="lazy adv-photo" data-position="article-large" data-original="http://media.al.com/news_impact/photo/23321463-large.jpg" alt="Joel Olsteen.JPG"></a><span class="photo-data"><span class="caption">Evangelist Joel Osteen&nbsp;</span></span></span></div>
<p>Evangelist Joel Osteen is denying he closed his Houston megachurch even as thousands were seeking shelter from the onslaught of Hurricane Harvey.</p>
<p>"We have never closed our doors,"&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/28/joel-osteen-lakewood-church-houston-hurricane-harvey/610947001/">said Osteen, Senior Pastor of Houston's Lakewood Church.</a> "We will continue to be a distribution center to those in need. We are prepared to house people once shelters reach capacity. Lakewood will be a value to the community in the aftermath of this storm."</p>
<p>Osteen had <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/29/us/joel-osteen-houston-megachurch-criticism/index.html">been under fire </a>since this weekend after the church posted a message on social media saying Lakewood, which has about 52,000 attendees weekly, was inaccessible due to severe flooding. The church's message directed people to other shelters in the area though some on social media questioned how Lakewood was flooded if the surrounding neighborhood was not.</p>
<p>Houston blogger Lynn Gabriel responded with photos of the flooded church interior.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Seriously quite sickening when people spread negative news without knowing the situation. This is the situation of our church <a href="https://twitter.com/lakewoodch">@lakewoodch</a> <a href="https://t.co/0KKBmu6hW8">pic.twitter.com/0KKBmu6hW8</a></p>
-- Lynne Gabriel (@heyitslynneg) <a href="https://twitter.com/heyitslynneg/status/902230475619610624">August 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<br>
<p>Church officials said Tuesday the building, the former home of the Houston Rockets, will open today around noon and will be used as a donation center. Several hundred people may be housed on its second floor if necessary, they added.</p>
<p>"Our hearts are breaking as we see the images of the damage and destruction in our city and the surrounding areas from Hurricane Harvey. We are praying for everyone's safety in Houston and Texas," Osteen said. "We are working diligently with the city of Houston to mobilize our many volunteers at shelters around the city as well as various other points of need in and around the Houston area."</p>
<p>The church is also working with Samaritan's Purse, an organization operated by evangelist Franklin Graham, on its relief efforts.</p>
<p>Harvey has&nbsp;<a href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/08/tropical_storm_harvey_2017_bre.html">dumped as much as 50 inches of rain</a> on Houston and surrounding areas, causing wide spread flooding and being blamed for at least four deaths. Rescue and recovery efforts are still underway.</p>
<p><em><strong>Updated Aug. 29 at 12:34 p.m. to correct spelling of Joel Osteen's name.</strong></em></p>
        
        
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