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Ship of Fools: St Patrick, West Oakland, California, USA

The Mystery WorshipperThe Mystery Worshipper Shipmate
edited May 2023 in The Mystery Worshipper

imageShip of Fools: St Patrick, West Oakland, California, USA

A Bapcath experience of worship, with a mixture of Baptist spontaneity and Catholic ritual

Read the full Mystery Worshipper report here


Comments

  • PortolaPortola Shipmate
    On May 8, 2023 the Diocese of Oakland filed for bankruptcy because of more than 330 lawsuits from survivors of alleged clerical sexual abuse. The bishop of the diocese announced: "Tomorrow, May 9, I am meeting with all the pastors of the diocese to discuss the Mission Alignment Process and the impact our bankruptcy filing will have on our implementation." So, the fate of St. Patrick as a parish will apparently not be determined on May 9, as announced at the service I reported on, but the consultations to determine the future of the parish will begin on this day. Here is a link to the bishop's statement: https://www.oakdiocese.org/chapter-11.
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    Host post

    Thank you for the update and clarification @Portola .

    Everyone: please let's keep any further posts here to the content of the report and not to comments on or speculation about any ongoing issues in the diocese.

    Nenya - Mystery Worshipper Host

    /Host Post

  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    With that Hostly Advice in mind, I merely remark that an attendance of 30-40 seems a little sparse for an RC church - would the 9am congregation have been somewhat larger?
  • PortolaPortola Shipmate
    In 2022 the Diocese of Oakland reported the attendance in each church. In St. Patricks the average Sunday attendance at the 2 masses in 2019 was 189. In 2021 it dropped to 134. So, perhaps the Spanish mass has a larger draw. From 2019 to 2021 the attendance at masses in the diocese dropped by 42% "due to the COVID pandemic".
  • Baptist TrainfanBaptist Trainfan Shipmate
    It's interesting to note the comment about "no musical notes were given, so I couldn't join in the singing". That seems to be a real US/UK difference as it's very rare for British churches to provide service sheets or hymnbooks with printed staves. (Welsh chapels in the past may have offered Tonic Sol-fa!)
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    Portola wrote: »
    In 2022 the Diocese of Oakland reported the attendance in each church. In St. Patricks the average Sunday attendance at the 2 masses in 2019 was 189. In 2021 it dropped to 134. So, perhaps the Spanish mass has a larger draw. From 2019 to 2021 the attendance at masses in the diocese dropped by 42% "due to the COVID pandemic".

    I think Covid has (at least anecdotally) had much the same effect here in the UK, with many churches struggling to get even close to pre-Covid levels.

    St Patrick's is certainly an attractive church building - I rather like the Spanish Mission style!
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