Honoring the Sea with a Full Heart

On Oct. 1, Heal the Bay volunteers and staff gathered on the shores of Santa Monica to honor the sea as part of the World Festival of Sacred Music opening concert.

Some people brought flowers as offerings, while musicians such as the Agape International Choir and the Sacred Rhythm Drum Ensemble performed their own offerings.

After the ceremony, Heal the Bay set up a beach exploration station. We helped youth dig in the sand to see what life we could find and discussed how important the ocean is to our daily lives.

“It was a beautiful event to be a part of, ” said Meredith McCarthy, Heal the Bay’s Director of Programs. “We often get trapped in our heads here. Honoring the Sea was all heart.”

The ceremony was produced by the World Festival of Sacred Music, which is also presenting a gala concert “Water Is Rising: Music and Dance Amid Climate Change” at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, Oct. 15. Artists from the Pacific Atolls of Kiribati, Tokelau and Tuvalu will perform. More information: www.waterisrising.com.

 The performance by the group from Tuvalu will be especially poignant as this week that tiny Pacific Island nation declared a state of emergency due to a severe shortage of fresh water. Read more.