MINISTRIES

Contact information on all parish ministries is available
by calling the Parish Office (963-1228)

St. Helena Catholic Church

PARISH MINISTRIES

The Altar Society is a group of men and women volunteers working together to keep our church clean and attractive. The Altar Society is closely aligned with the Liturgy Committee on church environment.

Membership includes representatives from our Hispanic community. Members are divided into five work teams. Each team works one Saturday every five weeks. Volunteers are assigned various tasks. In addition to keeping the church clean, the Altar Society is responsible for altar servers vestments, altar linens, and altar coverings used for the celebration of the Mass.

Duties of the Altar Society consist of cleaning the vestibule, church proper, sanctuary, sacristy and church loft. The cleaning includes; dusting, wet and dry mopping the floors, vacuum cleaning and spot cleaning the carpeting, washing windows, polishing brass, etc., and other janitorial-type work. It is a behind the scenes, unglamorous, but a vitally important job that attracts dedicated, friendly people. The time commitment is approximately one and one-half (1½) hours every five weeks on a Saturday morning, starting at 8:00 a.m. The church is open at 7:00 a.m. Volunteers who wish to start work earlier than 8:00 a.m. may do so.

If you wish to volunteer for this ministry, contact (963-1228) the parish office.

At times, we all need a place for our children to go when we want attend mass. Several mothers have gotten together to cooperatively share in caring for our children so that we may go to the 11:00 a.m. Sunday mass.

We read Bible stories, recite prayers, color, draw and play together in an informal setting in the school hall during the 11:00 a.m. mass.

Children ages 2 - 7 are welcome! Ages are flexible. We are eager have more families join us. If you want to get involved, the time commitment is limited. Join us in this ministry.

If you wish to volunteer for this ministry, contact (963-1228) the parish office for a referral to the appropriate contact.

The Liturgy Committee assists the pastor in organizing parish liturgical life, by helping plan liturgies and the church environs. This includes music, readings, environment, and other aspects of liturgy. The liturgy committee works with the pastor on scheduling, training and formation of the various ministries within the liturgical framework, including Ministers of Communion, Lectors/Readers, Ushers, and Altar Servers. We coordinate the planning of the major Eucharistic celebrations of the year, including Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, etc., as well as evaluating liturgy celebrations.

Our membership is made up of the priests in our parish, our deacon, our music director and other music providers, along with a small group of parishioners. We lead by consensus and have a recording secretary. We meet once a month on a Saturday morning in the parish rectory.

If you wish to volunteer for this ministry, contact (963-1228) the parish office for a referral to the appropriate contact.

Mission Statement: “The goal of the Marian Visitors is to make sure that all parishioners unable to attend Mass, receive the Holy Eucharist at least once each week.”

As Marian Visitors, we endeavor to reach out to all parishioners who are in hospitals, care facilities, retirement homes, or who are unable to come to church to receive the Holy Eucharist on a weekly basis. We do not need to know the reason for their inability to get to church. Some recipients are lonely, some are elderly, some are too ill, some are unable to leave home long enough to make it to Mass each Sunday. If we individually, are alerted to a particular need of a non-Catholic, we refer their name and situation to St. Vincent de Paul.

We meet after Mass on the 4th Friday of the month with Father John to ensure that each parishioner in need is on our current visit list. We go individually, or in pairs or a group to:

If you wish to volunteer for this ministry, contact (963-1228) the parish office for a referral to the appropriate contact.

There is an old Jewish legend about the origin of praise. After God created mankind, says the legend, He asked the angels what they thought of the world He had made. "Only one thing is lacking," they said. "It is the sound of praise to the Creator." So, the story continues, “God created music, the voice of birds, the whispering wind, the murmuring ocean, and planted melody in people's hearts."

The purpose of our music program is to enhance the liturgy, and invite people to worship together in song. Each of the choirs has a different style; yet the music reflects on some aspects of the gospel each week, as well as enhancing the celebration of the Eucharist.

11:00a.m. Church Choir (to sing on 1st &3rd Sundays)
Children’s Choir (once per month)

We would like some more singers for our 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. choirs. As the musical style is more traditional in these choirs, we would welcome string players; e.g. violin, cello etc.

We practice on Thursday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., in the School Hall or School Gym. The 11:00 a.m. choir meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the School Hall. Each choir also meets for a "warm - up" rehearsal 45 minutes before each mass.

We encourage all of you with musical talent to come and sing/play with us. There is no need to be able to read music - a good singing voice and/or reasonable instrumentation skills are all that's needed!

If you wish to volunteer for this ministry, contact (963-1228) the parish office for a referral to the appropriate contact.

WHAT: To provide opportunities for fellowship, prayer, service and fun in a Catholic environment. To explore our Catholic faith: What does being a Catholic teen mean? What is a faith journey? What are our God-given gifts? How can we use them? Why should we pray? Why go to Mass?

WHERE: Saint Helena Catholic School Hall/Gym and various locations depending on the activity.

WHO: All youth in 9th, 10th, 1lth or 12th grades. Adults who feel called to work with the High School Youth Group Leadership Team.

If you wish to volunteer for this ministry, contact (963-1228) the parish office for a referral to the appropriate contact.