Televangelists Joel and Victoria Osteen will visit Gillette this month to speak with community members about hope following recent coal bankruptcies.
The visit and events were inspired by a Gillette woman who listens to Osteen's radio channel. Retired county employee Carolyn Waldrop responded to the call for listeners to submit stories of communities in need of inspiration.
With the lay-off of around 600 mine workers over the summer, Waldrop said she thinks Gillette is in need of a spiritual boost.
"[It's] the necessity for our community to get a shot in the arm, to be encouraged, to have hope," she said.
"In recent weeks, a bankruptcy judge approved the sale of both mines to a company that is reopening the mines. Joel & Victoria and SiriusXM are visiting Gillette to celebrate the community's hope and resilience in the face of hardship and to share their inspiring example with Joel's SiriusXM audience across the country," a press release from SiriusXM stated.
The Osteens are co-pastors at their church in Houston, Lakewood Church, and preach non-denominational Christianity.
Both will be in town on November 18 for a private recording of his radio show with Waldrop and community members.
"They will be interspersed through a group of about 60 people or so to just share their story about Gillette, Wyoming and the coal mine," Waldrop said
That event will be held at First Assembly of God Church in Gillette. Waldrop said the event is invitation-only.
Later in the evening, the Osteens will host a "Night of Hope" at the Cam-Plex.
"Victoria and I are excited to visit and meet the people of this amazing town of Gillette," said Joel Osteen. "In the face of their challenges their resilience as a community is inspiring and we're glad to share their story with people across the country who listen to us on SiriusXM. My gift is to uplift people and show them that through God, there is hope for whatever they're going through. We believe people will be encouraged and filled with an expectation that their best days are still to come," Osteen said in the press release.
The "Night of Hope" is free and open to the public.
Both events will be broadcast on Osteen's SiriusXM radio channel on November 22.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu.
