JUSTIN’S FRIDAY CONTEMPLATIONS

Connecting to the Portico Community

Tampa Bay Lightning

By Justin LaRosa | December 8, 2022

FRIDAY CONTEMPLATION: Honor & Impact Everybody who knows me knows that I LOVE hockey and the Tampa Bay Lightning. I’m a season ticket holder and attend a lot of games (I…

Tom Petty Advent Truth Bomb

By Justin LaRosa | December 2, 2022

FRIDAY CONTEMPLATION: Advent kicks off the new year in the Christian calendar (yes, Christians have a calendar). It marks the 4 Sundays that precede Christmas. Read more about it here and…

Thankful Thanksgiving

By Justin LaRosa | November 25, 2022

FRIDAY CONTEMPLATION: Thankful Thanksgiving Did you have a Turkey induced nap yesterday? I hope so. I bet that some of the over 40 servant volunteers did. They invested a part of…

And Justice For All

By Justin LaRosa | September 23, 2022

FRIDAY CONTEMPLATION: JUSTICE FOR ALL When we think of the work of the church and faith communities we most often picture charity rather than justice. Serving people in need is beautiful and…

The Best Cast Ever!

By Justin LaRosa | September 9, 2022

FRIDAY CONTEMPLATION: Gone Fishing When I was 5 years old, my grandfather took me fresh water fishing 5 times. We used worms and a bobber. During each of those outings, I…

Don’t Look Away

By Justin LaRosa | September 2, 2022

FRIDAY CONTEMPLATION: Don’t turn away. Have you ever turned away from something that was painful to see or take in? Most of us have. In truth, most of us want to…

Seeing Clearly

By Justin LaRosa | August 25, 2022

FRIDAY CONTEMPLATION. When I was 20, I tore a retina. My vision went from 20/20 to 20/13 vision (even better). But…… For 2 decades, my eyesight has slowly deteriorated. Every couple…

Let’s Eat

By Justin LaRosa | August 5, 2022

There is power when people eat together. That’s something we have learned at The Portico’s 1001 Gathering. When we put our knees under tables, share a meal and have conversation,…

Unity

By Justin LaRosa | July 15, 2022

Unity is beautiful, fragile, elusive, and complicated in the presence of diversity. But if unity forms around a common enemy, it’s profoundly simple. Creating unity in our time is difficult.…

Chilling

By Justin LaRosa | July 8, 2022

Hope your summer is as chill as my dog Karl. This is a photo of him while I was working this week. I returned from an epic vacation last Saturday…