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ANTIOCH — Three people died and five others became sick from an apparent food-borne illness after eating a church-sponsored community dinner Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving, county health officials said Monday.

All eight are believed to be from the same assisted living facility, said Dr. Marilyn Underwood, environmental health director for Contra Costa County Health Services, who declined to name the facility or provide the ages or names of those who died or became ill.

The dinner, sponsored by Golden Hills Community Church of Brentwood at the local American Legion Hall, was attended by more than 800 people, officials said.

Officials said that while they suspect the deaths and illness were caused by the holiday meal, they don’t know whether food prepared at the hall or donated after being cooked at home by a church member was to blame.

Patients began arriving at Sutter Delta Medical Center on Friday night and Saturday with symptoms that appear to have been caused by a “fast onset” organism and subsided quickly, Underwood said. Four patients have been discharged. One remains hospitalized.

Health officials are asking other people who became sick to come forward for testing. It could take more than a week before a cause is clearly identified.

An unattributed statement posted on the church’s website Monday night states: “Our dinner in Antioch is only one of a number of possibilities that county health is investigating.” But at a news conference Monday, health officials only discussed the dinner at the American Legion Hall as a suspected cause.

Church officials “are praying fervently for the families whose loved ones died and for others who are sick,” the church statement said.

Reached by phone, church Executive Director Phil Hill said the church is cooperating with the health department’s investigation. “We don’t have any other information,” he said.

“We do this out of love,” said Rona Tenorio, a church member who volunteers to put on the dinner each Thanksgiving. “It saddens me so much that this happened.”

The people who generally attend are homeless or those who don’t have family, she added. “We just want them to share fellowship with us. It’s open to all the public.”

The church put on dinners at three locations, she said. Some food is prepared on site. Church members also cook at home and drop off dishes, she said. Tenorio worked at a dinner in Brentwood, but has volunteered in Antioch other years.

When people began showing up at the hospital “the symptoms were nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,” which are standard for a food-borne illness, said Dr. Louise McNitt, the county’s health officer. Still, until tests are completed — possibly in seven to 10 days — they won’t know for certain.

Even after more testing, it isn’t “100 percent sure” the exact cause will be determined, she said.

“We really need to get more information about what organism is causing this, Underwood said.

One apparent church member, Linda Griffin Henke, posted on the church’s Facebook page late Monday afternoon that the dinner was “for senior citizens, homeless and others who would be alone for Thanksgiving.”

Usually, the American Legion allows groups to lease the facility to serve the homeless on Thanksgiving, Post Commander Autrey James said.

“We are very upset by any loss of life,” James said. “We’re just dumbfounded.”

The nondenominational Golden Hills Church has facilities in Antioch and Brentwood and was founded in 1983, according to information on its website. It has numerous community outreach programs, according to the site.