From motorcycling to Marines, new LBK chaplain brings broad experience

Chaplain Jason "Jay" Barbosa says he felt drawn to provide spiritual services to those in hospice care for multiple reasons. Getting to relive the twists and turns of people's lives as they share their stories is one of his great joys, but he also appreciates how his own variety of experiences often gives him some place to connect with people and allow them to open up.

Barbosa, 56, and his wife, Edna, just moved to the area from Colorado. He is the latest addition to Longboat Island Chapel's leadership team.

"I'm looking forward to meeting with the congregation and helping to figure out what direction we need to grow in, what sort of outreach services we can provide," he said.

As someone with extensive experience in patient visits, he encourages anyone in the community seeking spiritual uplifting or education to reach out.

"I want to be that resource for them if they're not able to get to the chapel," he said.

Photo by Dana Kampa

Barbosa also specialized in hospice services in Denver, working through the Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church. He originally hails from New York, and he started a lifetime of international travel by serving with the U.S. Marine Corps for eight years from 1988 to 1996.

He said New York's rich culture, particularly of residents with ties to World War II, is part of what motivated him to serve.

"I had neighbors who had been in concentration camps and still had numbers tattooed on their forearms," he said. "That is what really inspired me to want to serve. I've always been a student of the elders, and getting to understand that history through their eyes was amazing."

Upon returning to the states, he said he attended San Diego State University then went on to teaching, specifically working in special education, taking on an administrative role for five years.

"I've always been a person to take on a challenge, and while basic education is a challenge, special education is really where my heart is," he said, adding he appreciated helping students work through emotional challenges. "I could connect with those kids on a different level and help them succeed."

Barbosa said he then shifted to an assistant principal position with Place Bridge Academy, a Denver magnet school known for meeting the needs of new students coming from all over the world.

"That was probably the most healing assignment I had, because we were getting a lot of refugees from countries I had served in combat in," he said. "I was able to connect with parents, mentioning different towns they were aware of. That really helped the parents also, to be put at ease."

He continued, "We always did a lot of outreach there too. Often, families coming in didn't have anything. Their food stamps ended after a few months. So we started to create different programs to help them find jobs, build resumes and work on computer skills."

After retiring from education and closing another chapter in a fast-paced life, Barbosa found himself somewhat aimless, he said. He started riding with an outlaw motorcycle group.

"But it was inside of the club that I rediscovered my passion for teaching about Jesus, and teaching in general," he said. "All the guys in that club were extremely supportive of me. They encouraged me to go back to school and get my doctorate degree, which I did. I'll forever be grateful to them."

He finished his degree last April, and he said he was somewhat in disbelief in that moment, reflecting on his journey. He focused his dissertation on hospice care, inspired by a friend who spoke about his patients who otherwise didn't get any visitors.

"It's an absolute honor for me to be there for them," he said. "I have a passion for connecting with people who have more life experience than I do. I love sitting and listening to their stories and getting to know a bit about their life. It's an honor to walk the final mile with them."

While he believes hospice ministry will always be at the core of his work, Barbosa said he also looks forward to expanding the scope of his ministry.

Moving to Florida is a somewhat full-circle moment for him and his wife, whom he met shortly after she moved to Colorado from Florida.

"I had been praying to the Lord for someone who would understand where I was at," he said. "I said that prayer about 30 days prior to meeting her. About that same time, she was packing up from Florida and felt called to come to Colorado."

It took time for them to understand one another considering she spoke Portuguese and he spoke English, but the two connected over their shared faith. They married two years ago.

As an avid angler and diver, he looks forward to once again living by the ocean.

Considering he is versed in Protestant, Lutheran, Baptist and Roman Catholic denominations, he hopes to be able to relate to people from many walks of life on Longboat Key.

As he gets settled in the area, Barbosa said he also hopes to put his experience coaching lacrosse to good use.

"I grew up on Long Island, so I played lacrosse most of my life," he said. "I was a goalie, and my daughter [Savvy Barbosa] is currently the goalie for the University of Tampa. They won two national championships with her."

He looks forward to his daughter eventually taking on a coaching position.

"That will be full circle too, because I've coached her ever since she could walk," he said.