WELCOME OUR NEW DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

I am blessed and honored to be the Development Director here at Incarnation, and I look forward to meeting so many new people and reconnecting with others that I have known over the years. I come to Incarnation after spending the past three years at Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley as their Parish and Community Relations Coordinator. In this role I was the main contact for parishes when they reached out to CSSMV, and I also coordinated partnerships between CSSMV and local parishes. One of those projects was the Food Commodity bags that Incarnation helped collect back in early 2021. This helped us prepare bags of food we could use in our food pantry in times of need. My other main role at CSSMV was to assist in our development work, and in particular our fundraising and engagement events. I was blessed to work for an amazing Director of Development, and he taught me many great things I plan to utilize at Incarnation.

Prior to my time at Catholic Social Services I worked for a year at St. Mary of the Assumption as the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Previous to that, I spent almost ten years at Chaminade Julienne High School as a campus minister, substitute teacher, varsity baseball coach, as well as many other roles I picked up along the way. In all of these roles I have been blessed to be able to do a job that served the work of God and helped the youth of our church grow in their relationship with Jesus. The many Kairos Retreats, Pilgrimages, Mission Trips, service opportunities, and talks with my students are not only some of my fondest memories but some of my own most transformative moments in my faith as well. I look forward to how my ministry here at Incarnation will have the same effect in my relationship with God.

I am a born and raised Daytonian who is the oldest of four children who grew up in St. Christopher parish and school in Vandalia. I was then very blessed to attend Chaminade Julienne High School and earn degrees from Sinclair Community College and Wright State University in Business, followed by my Masters in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Dayton.

In 2016 I met my amazing wife. We were married in 2017, and in 2019 we welcomed our first child, Abigail Grace. These two ladies are my everything, and they are the reason I want to continue in my ministry to serve Christ in whatever way I can. They help me stay focused on what is most important in life, help me to laugh off the mistakes, pick myself up from the difficulties, and celebrate accomplishments. I look forward to all of you meeting Maddie and Abbie as we get more settled into the parish.

As I have the opportunity to meet all of you, I hope to share with you many moments that have helped form me into the man I am today. From my Pilgrimages to Medjugorje and Lourdes, to my Wednesday mornings going to Mass and Coffee with an amazing group of guys, to the opportunities I have had to meet some amazing examples of our Catholic Faith. All of my experiences have led me here to Incarnation, and I look forward to what God has in store for all of us.

Thanks and God Bless,

Mike Hoendorf

Last Words

Tears are running down my cheeks as I write in my office this past Sunday afternoon, putting together my last bulletin article.

I was remembering my first article in Incarnation’s bulletin, sent from Botkins parish, written very late one night in between packing my belongings and preparing to come to Incarnation.  It was entitled “Hogwash.”  I talked about how, while statistics say very few people read a parish bulletin, people who matter in the vitality of a parish do read the bulletin.  They are people who love Jesus as evidenced by their presence at Mass and their desire to serve and stay connected to him.

Four years ago, I promised that those who read the bulletin would know what is going on in parish life and that they would know me better.  I hope I have made good on those promises.

Since then I have written at least 180,000 words (850 weekly) X 52 (weeks) x 4 (Years) + a few for good measure, because most times I went over my allotted amount!  I’d like to think that those words—what would equal two average books—are a measure of my love for you, the people of the Church of Incarnation, and Jesus!

Thanks for so much!  Thanks for being generous with your time, talent and treasure.  Thanks for being open to the challenge of continuous conversion and transformation in Jesus.  Thanks to so many leaders and ministers among us, staff and parishioners.  Thank you for the opportunity to grow and become a better man and hopefully a holier priest, and thanks for your patience for my mistakes and the challenges I have not met well.

In the words of our reason for being, we have incarnated Jesus for each other!  In line with our core values we have jumped in with both feet in so many ways:  into a parish wide survey and strategic plan.  We have reached out with both hands to become more welcoming and humble.  We worked to unite church and school and wondered about how to strengthen catholic culture in PREP and school.

Interestingly, my final words in the Incarnation bulletin will not be my own.  They are words on my twenty-five year old ordination card taken from the late Most Reverend Joseph L. Bernardin as he started his ministry as Archbishop of Chicago. They represent what I hope the Lord Jesus and the Spirit have allowed me to do at Incarnation:  “…I give myself to you.  I offer you my service and leadership, my energies, my gifts, my mind, my heart, my strength and, yes, my limitations.  I offer myself in faith, hope and love.”

Sincerely and with Faith, Hope and Love in Christ,

Fr. Pat