When you walk into St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley in Summit Hill, you are greeted by a ministry with deep roots. The people who make up the fabric that is the parish family each have their own stories woven into the church’s history — some dating back generations, while many come from other churches within the Panther Valley that have been consolidated over the years.

The man serving as this blended family’s shepherd, who like the patron saint of the parish, is a builder.

The Rev. Allen J. Hoffa, who has served as St. Joseph’s administrator since June 20, 2017, is a man of strong convictions with an infectious smile and personality that has helped many heal from the closures while paving the way for a bright future.

At 6 o’clock tonight, the 35-year-old Hoffa will be officially installed as the parish’s 31st pastor during an installation Mass celebrated by the Rev. Monsignor John Chizmar.

The man behind the collar

Hoffa’s story began on June 4, 1983, when he was born to Greg and Ann­marie Hoffa of Reading.

The oldest of three, Hoffa said his parents sacrificed to make sure their children had a Catholic education and instilled in them a strong faith. He served as an altar server at St. Catherine of Sienna in Reading beginning in fifth grade and then as the parish’s first Sacristan when he was in high school at Reading Central Catholic.

Hoffa was also making a name for himself on the football field, but God’s calling was growing stronger.

A life-changing moment happened in 2000, which made Hoffa question his path even more.

Over the summer before his senior year of high school, Hoffa attended World Youth Day in Rome.

“So there I was in the middle of St. Peter’s Square and Pope John Paul II is there in his frail state and he keeps encouraging us, ‘do not be afraid, do not be afraid.’

“I would say I thought about the priesthood probably since I was in the seventh grade,” he said. “But it was a bounce back and forth (priesthood and being a husband and father.) I thought the two were in conflict to one another so I wound up coming home and talking to my pastor. I said to him I am struggling about where God is calling me. On one hand I can see myself as a father and as a husband and on the other hand I can see myself as a priest, and he said to me, ‘You know those two things aren’t in conflict. Honestly if you came to me and you said that you thought you were called to the priesthood but you couldn’t see yourself as a husband and father, then we’d be having a completely different conversation.’

“He said if you couldn’t see yourself as married to your wife and a father to a few children how could you find yourself intimately connected to the church and a father of thousands? I think from that point forward one thing that has always been with me is the priesthood as spiritual fatherhood. Wherever I am, whoever I am in charge of and in pastoral care of, they’re my children.”

God’s calling ... will you answer?

Hoffa graduated from Reading Central Catholic in 2001 and went on to attend Albright College, but God kept calling.

“I started really praying and the question became not what do I want for me, but what does God want for me? And it kept coming back, there are tons of things that will make you happy, but what’s going to make you happiest? The answer to that was always the priesthood,” he said. “So I made the decision at the end of my freshman year to apply to the diocese and left Albright College after one year and entered into the (St. Charles Borromeo) seminary.”

On June 6, 2009, Hoffa was ordained into the priesthood and set off on the path that God had chosen for him.

Over the next nine years, the young priest served as the director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Allentown, chaplain at Lehigh University and Allentown Central Catholic, as an assistant pastor at Holy Guardian Angels of Reading and finally as administrator of St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley.

“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” he said. “But it’s been awesome. I’ve seen the entire diocese. I don’t think there is a single parish in our diocese that I haven’t been to and being able to get around and see that you see that the differences in the church, and I think that just doing that has influenced me in the type of pastor and the continual evolution as spiritual father that I feel God is calling me to be.”

Relating to Carbon County

When Hoffa was assigned to St. Joseph’s last year, which was still rebuilding after another round of consolidations, many people of the Panther Valley felt he couldn’t relate to their pain.

But he too was familiar with the sadness that comes with seeing a church and school closed.

Both the grade school and high school he graduated from, as well as the parish where he was baptized and received Communion, are now either closed or consolidated in with another parish or school.

“For all the people who think I don’t know about what it feels like, I do. There is background there. I know what it feels like when things get closed, when buildings sit empty and sold off, but here’s the thing, I look at it and say are we doing this for arbitrary reasons or are we doing this to be better?”

Hoffa used his personal experience, knowledge and connections, paired with the parish’s resources to begin rebuilding a strong foundation.

Over the past year, St. Joseph Parish has started a high school Sacristan program, COAL Youth Ministry, community garden and various family-related outing events, restarted a prayer shawl ministry, the 40 Hours Devotion and built a strong social media presence to name a few.

In addition, Hoffa also serves as rector to the Shrine of St. Therese in Nesquehoning and as an administrator at St. Jerome Regional School in Tamaqua.

“Valuing our past is so important, but living vibrantly is so important as well,” he said. “We can take the present especially if it is good and we can keep pushing forward sensibly at a good pace so we can continue to build toward the future.

“I looked back over the year and think, wow we helped people to grow spiritually. We helped people to grow in the catechesis of the church and what we really believe. We helped people to grow in their own outreach of the apostolic nature of discipleship and we are really helping people find their abilities as persons. We provided opportunities for people to just be better human beings. If I could look back at the end of the day and say those four areas, if we keep that in balance, we’re doing exactly what the church wants us to do.”

So what are Hoffa’s plans moving forward?

Fine-tuning the activities and groups already in place and reaching out to a wider community, he said.

“At the end of the day, my role is just not about St. Joseph’s Parish of the Panther Valley growth, my ultimate goal is about the growth of the church and the growth of Jesus in people’s lives.”