City plans monthly celebrations for 2000

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city will sponsor a special event every month

next year, starting with a religious gathering called “The Procession of

Light -- 2000” on Jan. 2.

“Each month will be a very special month, but the January kickoff should

really be something,” said Diane Baker, president of the Huntington Beach

Conference and Visitors Bureau. “I’m more excited about that event than

New Year’s Eve.”

More than 500 people are expected to attend the inaugural celebration on

Jan. 2, which will begin at about 3 p.m., with choirs singing spiritual

songs, said City Councilman Ralph Bauer, who’s also a member of the

city’s interfaith council.

As the sun sets, a lone bagpipe player will perform “Amazing Grace,” he

said. The sound of the instrument, along with the “quasi-religious”

overtones set by the expansive backdrop of ocean and sky, will help

create a mood of introspection.

Once darkness falls, and provided the wind behaves, candles will sparkle

in the night, Bauer said.

At that point, about a dozen leaders from a variety of faiths, including

Buddhists, Mormons, Catholics, Jews and Muslims, will offer prayers for a

new year of peace and goodwill.

“Each group will do their own thing,” he said.

Bauer said the free event will benefit the community in a variety of

ways.

It will renew people’s faith in their own religion and help them

understand the common values shared by those who hold different beliefs.

And in a community where residents seem so often at odds “maybe a little

time out now and then from going after each other wouldn’t hurt,” he

said.

The event may even cause some to confront deep questions at the heart of

all faiths, he said, forcing people to question, “What’s going on [in the

world]? Where are we really going?”

The remaining months will be spent celebrating other aspects of our

lives, including education, environment, business, art and history.

FYI

For more information on this year’s millennium events, call the

conference and visitors bureau at 969-3492 or visit the bureau’s Web

site: https://www.hbvisit.com/turnof.htm.