Even before the sun rose high enough to light the water Sunday morning, surfer Digger Green had paddled far into the Huntington Beach waves, taking a beating under the rough water.
"This is my life," said the 52-year-old native of Queensland, Australia. "It is my church."
For about 400 interfaith worshipers, the shoreline became a makeshift church as Catholics, Jews and Muslims gathered for an unusual "blessing of the waves."
Although their faith traditions differ, those in attendance were bound by a reverence for the ocean and the peaceful place of prayer they find on its shores -- if not surfing its waves.
The service, sponsored by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, was directed by a pair of surf-loving priests. Fathers Christian Mondor and Matt Munoz chose the Sunday after the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi -- the patron saint of ecology, as well as for animals -- for the event as a reminder that the ocean and its ecosystem must be protected.
A snapshot-ready Southern California scene provided the backdrop for the service: The sun rose at 7 a.m. into a cloudless sky, and 6- to 10-foot waves crashed in quick succession against the pier, sending up high-splashing water.
Worshipers lined up on concrete steps just east of the Huntington Beach Pier, arriving in T-shirts or sweaters, shorts and flip-flops. A handful of surfers in wetsuits dotted the crowd. Every once in a while, a morning jogger ran past on the walkway between the crowd and the beach. A youthful rock band set up to play for the crowd.
Mondor, who wore the brown robes of his Franciscan order over a black wetsuit, planned to hit the water after the blessing.
The priest, of Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church in Huntington Beach, was 10 years old and growing up in Westwood when he took up body surfing. More than seven decades later -- he is now 83 -- he says he is still drawn to the sea.
"You're out there on the water, between waves, and you feel the swell under you and you look up and see palm trees and mountains in the distance," Mondor said. "You're so close to nature. It's so quiet out there."
Munoz, 43, of St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Cypress, made his way through the crowd. With his long auburn hair and long beige poncho, the priest said jokingly, "I'm not Jesus. I need a surfboard to walk on water."
Rick Ischinger, a longtime surfer, blew on a conch shell, calling the gathering to order.
