Pr. Hoffman and wife, Karen, will be living in lower Manhattan, so the pastor can better get to know the neighborhood.

When people hear about my Metropolitan New York Synod (ELCA) call to be "Pastor to Lower Manhattan," their first question is usually something like, "What do you do?"

I've been at this work for a little over three months now and I can report that my work is now focused in three particular areas:  1) community relations; 2) ministry to the Wall Street community; and 3) beginning a new congregation.

Following the events of September 11, 2001, a whole host of organizations and groups came into being. One of these was Lutheran Disaster Response of New York.  From the very beginning, LDRNY, through its director, Dr. John Scibilia, has worked to coordinate the relief and recovery efforts of the various denominational disaster relational agencies.  Even as the denominational efforts began to take shape, a whole host of other governmental and neighborhood related ministries took shape in Lower Manhattan.  A key focus of my present work is making me aware of and available to, a number of these agencies and groups.  What I learn about I pass along to such groups as the New York Disaster Relief Interfaith Services, of which LDRNY is a part, and, by so doing, lessen the possibility of creating parallel or competing ministries.  At the same time, I can represent LDRNY to various neighborhood organizations and make them aware of resources already available to them.

One of the peculiar features of Lower Manhattan is that so many people who work there during the day do not live there. Wall Street teems with people on the average week day, and is almost empty in the evenings and on weekends.  Various attempts have been made over the years by various people and churches to engage people who work in the financial district.  What is slightly different about what I am trying to do is that I do not simply represent myself, or a congregation in the area (e.g. Trinity Episcopal Church on Wall Street), but a denomination.  I am presently working with pastors in New Jersey (the New Jersey Synod), Connecticut (the New England Synod), and the Metropolitan New York Synod in developing a list of people who work in Lower Manhattan.  I have already begun the process of contacting these people to talk with them about a weekday ministry to Lutherans working in the area.  Obviously, down the road, my plan is to expand this ministry beyond just Lutherans.  I have already had several conversations with leaders from the Episcopal Church as to how we might cooperate most effectively in this outreach effort.

The third feature of my work has to do with starting a new Lutheran congregation in Lower Manhattan. Several Lutherans who live in Battery Park have already contacted me and we'll soon be meeting to talk about the future.

Rev. Dr. Robert A. Hoffman
Pastor to Lower Manhattan