Holy waters in Surf City

Huntington Beach residents often feel that the city’s miles of beaches are a blessing. But after an interfaith ceremony finishes next Sunday, the coastline will actually be blessed.

About 6:45 a.m. Sunday, a group of religious figures organized by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange will host the “Blessing of the Waves” at Huntington Beach Pier.

Church officials picked Sunday because it falls just one day after the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, named by Pope John Paul II as the patron saint of ecology, diocese spokesman Ryan Lilyengren said. Inspired by the groups of surfers who meet to pray on Sundays before they hit the waves, the diocese decided it would be a good way to reach out to the wider community, he added.

“We decided to invite all the different communities to come together, to recognize something common in all of our lives,” Lilyengren said.

Organizers got approval from the Greater Huntington Beach Interfaith Council and have been putting up posters in surf shops throughout the city. And if this year is a success, organizers hope to make it an annual event.

The blessing will involve not only Catholic figures, but also a Protestant presence, an Islamic blessing and possibly even a Zoroastrian prayer, said the Rev. Christian Mondor of Saint Simon and Jude Catholic Church in Huntington Beach. Due to the Jewish High Holy Days, finding a rabbi able to attend has been difficult, but people of all faiths are welcome, he said.

“The ocean is a precious resource for the planet,” he said. “We just want to call God’s blessing, to have all kinds of people come together, of any faith or no faith.”

Mondor will be reciting a 13th-century prayer on the shore as another priest paddles out with a group of surfers to pray on the water. But the 83-year-old Franciscan is an unlikely fan of the longboard — he didn’t start surfing until the early 1990s, when he was assigned to Huntington Beach.

“I got here and I realized, hey, this is Surf City, so at age 70 I got a longboard and started to learn to surf,” he said.

Mondor said he was surprised to find that surfing went right along with his faith, specifically St. Francis’ ideas that “we come to know God through the things he has made.”

“I found out it’s a wonderful way to pray,” he said. “You get past the break line and feel the swell, and are alone with the ocean. Here in Huntington Beach, especially in the fall, you can sit on a longboard on a sunny day, and see the mountains in the distance framed by palm trees, and thank God for this beautiful planet.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Blessing of the Waves”

WHO: People of all faiths and no faiths

WHEN: About 6:45 a.m. Sunday

WHERE: Huntington Beach Pier