ore than 300 lawsuits <\/a>against the Oakland Diocese from 2019 to 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\nBy 2023, the diocese was filing for bankruptcy. Its estimated liability ranged anywhere from $100 million to $500 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But in recent years, St. Stephen parishioners saw reasons for hope. A congregation loaded with elderly members was welcoming more and more young families. Last summer, when Christ the King shuttered for about four months to have a new roof installed, St. Stephen often had so many attendees at Sunday services that churchgoers had to triple-park. At the same time, the banquet hall was routinely busy with gatherings for local realtor groups and Catholic school meetups.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then there were the church upgrades. In rapid succession, St. Stephen got a new air conditioning unit, new carpeting, even a newly paved parking lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that just made us feel really good about where we were at,\u201d said Blaine Carter, a member of St. Stephen\u2019s pastoral council. \u201cIt was like, \u2018Finally, we can exhale a bit.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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St. Stephen Catholic Church, in an affluent neighborhood in Walnut Creek, is one of 13 parishes closing as the Oakland Diocese struggles with financial troubles due to sexual abuse lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Few could fault Kathy Gomes, then, for breaking down in tears at her dental office Tuesday when she saw St. Stephen\u2019s name listed among those 13 looming closures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some of her earliest childhood memories were of attending St. Stephen when it was known as \u201cSt. Thrifty\u201d; its early years were spent next to a Thrifty Drug Store in the Palos Verdes Mall. In the decade and a half since her father died, Gomes found a much-needed sense of community by volunteering at the church.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have any kids, and I\u2019ve never been married,\u201d Gomes said. \u201cFor me, the church really is my family. To lose this community because of what I can only guess is its real estate value is just really painful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The depth of that impending loss was apparent during Sunday morning\u2019s service. Aside from a couple remarks from Chompoochan and a mention during the Prayers of the Faithful, no one discussed this past week\u2019s biggest news.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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However, there were a few watery eyes during the homily, which centered on the idea of trusting God through tumultuous times. \u201cEven when life is unclear, as long as we stay close to Him, we\u2019re on the right path,\u201d Chompoochan said. \u201cEven if we might feel small or unnoticed, God chooses us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Parishioners gather for coffee and doughnuts in the church hall after\u00a0Sunday services at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Walnut Creek.<\/p>\n
Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
After the service, several dozen parishioners gathered in the banquet hall. Between bites of doughnuts and sips of coffee, the church\u2019s choir chatted in concerned tones, exchanging ideas about what they should do once St. Stephen closes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Complicating matters: No one knows exactly when that day will come. Parishioners can only hope to have more details by St. Stephen\u2019s next town hall meeting, which is scheduled for May 17 after Sunday services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the meantime, parishioners are taking solace in a simple truth: Things could be even worse. Many of the other churches on that closure list don\u2019t have a sister church, like Christ the King, that can accommodate a bigger congregation. Some even have schools, which also now face an uncertain future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least we have a church we can go to that people are already comfortable with,\u201d longtime congregant Faith Jacobs said. \u201cStill, I\u2019m outraged. We put so much into this place over the years, only to get an email saying it\u2019s all about to end.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Father Lee Chompoochan blesses the sacraments during Sunday Mass at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Walnut Creek, one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[184,332,143,145,144,388],"class_list":["post-298520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-bay-area","tag-east-bay","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}