Brother Robert Hoffman, 75, boarded a train from his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y. to begin the journey which has led him through the home missions of the United States as a Glenmary home missioner. He began that journey with thoughts of serving the foreign missions but soon realized his true calling was to the home missions and to Glenmary.

For Brother Bob, home mission ministry has been a real hands-on experience. He was a member of the Brothers’ Building Crew for nine years early in his ministry. He and the crew traveled through Mission Land, USA, building churches, rectories and halls in Glenmary missions as well as refurbishing and remodeling existing buildings being used by Glenmary missions.

In the late 1960s, he began working in Glenmary’s vocation office, a ministry he continued until 1979 and then revisited in the 1990s. Through the years, he received a master’s in theology in 1987 and a doctorate of ministry in 1992.

Between his vocation office assignments and furthering his education, he spent four years in Vanceburg, Ky., where he founded People’s Self-Help Housing, a local program similar to Habitat for Humanity. The organization, which is still thriving today, builds new, affordable housing for low-income folks in Lewis County using volunteer labor. It also rehabs existing housing.

Brother Bob took senior member status in 1997 soon after leaving vocation work. He is currently living in Clinchport, Va., in a home he built overlooking the mountains. He spends three months each year building homes in developing countries.