Parish Social Ministry (PSM) is an outreach organization dedicated to developing lay leadership and a spirituality based on the Social Justice teachings of the Church that initiates action on social issues affecting the parish, community, nation, and the world.

Committee Meetings – First Tuesday of each month

Contact – Parish Social Ministry Office – 764-7545

Director – Carol Ann Plunkett – 764-0325, ext. 104

PSM Chairperson – Kathleen DiCamilla – 764-9361

Volunteers on this committee answer outreach phone calls daily and work directly with those in need of emergency assistance for utilities and rent. They also distribute food through the parish food closet.

Volunteers sew and knit baby items for those in need, Stockings for Soldiers, and dresses for Outreach to Haiti. They also knit lap blankets for homebound parishioners.. Throughout the community; they also knit lap blankets for homebound parishioners.

Lazarus Ministry contacts and helps families of deceased parishioners. Providing greeters at funeral liturgies, preparing meals and house sitting are several ways parishioners assist families. Also, a Mass of Remembrance is held every November for those deceased that year.

St. Helena’s is a partner with the Food Bank of Delaware. Those in need of assistance with food are asked to call the Parish Social Ministry Office at 302-764-7545 to request an appointment. Identification for everyone living in the household is needed. Paperwork is completed at the first visit and redone yearly.

Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver hot meals to the elderly, the physically and/or mentally disabled and to those living alone with no other means of available support.

Emmanuel Dining Room, located in Wilmington, provides meals to the needy. Our parishioners supply casseroles one day every other month or 6 times per year.

Parishioners are asked to give food for Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets and Christmas gifts through the “Giving Tree”.

Social Justice Ministry looks at the root causes of social injustices such as homelessness, affordable housing, poverty, and other social justice issues at the local, national and international levels. Volunteers study and distribute information on important issues from organizations such as the USCCB, Bread for the World, and Pacem in Terris.

Respect Life ministry promotes and educates the parish on Right-to-life issues, such as abortion, human trafficking, euthanasia, stem cell research, and the death penalty.