JUSTIN’s FRIDAY CONTEMPLATIONS

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…

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…

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…

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 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.…

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…

(See Hyde Park’s pastoral statement at the end of this message)Many congregations gathered on Monday at The Portico for the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality‘s Justice Ministry Celebration. We…

Gathering Gatherers for The Gathering. Say that 3 times fast. It is a tongue twister. As The Portico Leadership team is planning and preparing for the fall weekly worship launch.…

Have you stopped to smell the roses? Here’s what I mean: When was the last time that you paused to celebrate transformation in your life, in a loved one’s life,…

Friday ContemplationThings are cooking at The Portico. Here are a number of the exciting developments that I hope you will be a part of:New Time & Name. The Gathering meets…