Our Lady of Perpetual Help

We are more than willing to speak to anyone with an interest in volunteering in any of these areas. You may email;

[email protected] 

or call the Church at 610-867-8409, extension 135 and leave a message and we will reach out to you to speak about your interest in being part of this important ministry.  

If you are specifically interested in being part of our BES team, send an email to [email protected].

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul: 

Service, Spirituality, Friendship

The Society of St. Vincent DePaul is an international society that has worked in the United States since 1845, beginning in St. Louis, MO and now extends throughout the US and its territories. With nearly 90,000 Vincentian volunteers serving their communities, today’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul works in 4,428 parish-based Conferences across the United States. Our founding activity, still practiced today, is the face-to-face Encounter (also known as the Home Visit), in which Vincentians meet directly with those they serve, to identify both immediate and longer-term needs, including emergency assistance with utilities, rent, food, and clothing.

Those who work in our conference, called “Vincentians,” share their blessings of time, talent and treasure with those who need help and hope. We understand that service to a neighbor in need is an encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ, and are aware that poverty, suffering, and loneliness are present for millions in our communities. Vincentians serve more than 4 million people annually in rural, suburban, and urban communities across the United States.

Since our parish conference started in 2022, we have helped more than 230 individuals and families directly though financial assistance with rent, mortgages, utilities bills, food, clothing, and other needs with which they have presented. We have helped collect thousands of pounds of food during our monthly Food Drive and assisted other agencies with meeting their needs of helping pregnant women, those who are differently-abled, and will soon will be assisting with feeding and providing shelter for those who are non-housed.

The Society here at OLPH is always looking for others who can join in our mission of helping those in need. There are two main ways of helping: the St. Vincent DePaul Society Conference Board and the St. Vincent DePaul Society – Human Concerns Committee.

This group of people are those who actually meet with our neighbors (those in need) to assess how we can help, and to arrange for direct financial assistance when possible. 

We currently have 12 people committed to this mission and always welcome more. We ask for a monthly commitment of 1-2 meetings per month and to assist with Encounters (meeting with those in need) as often as possible. 

We meet with people throughout the week, usually at a time that is beneficial for those in need as well as those members of the Board (mornings, afternoons, evenings). 

Encounters are always conducted with 2-3 volunteers at a time. The team supports once another through prayer, friendship, and a commitment to a common mission to meet Christ in the face of those in need.

This committee of people works to meet a specific need and is involved in various service activities:

• They conduct a monthly food drive to benefit the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry run by St. Jane de Chantal Parish in Easton and is located at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Easton. Volunteers are needed once a month on the weekend Masses to help gather and pack collected food from our fellow parishioners. 

• Additionally, volunteers are needed to move the food to the Food Pantry.  Moving the food is typically done on the Tuesday morning following the collection and requires only one or two volunteers a month.

• *They support the Cay Galgon Lifehouse, through occasional / seasonal collection drives and other activities. Volunteers would be needed to assist with these collections. To find out more about the Cay Galgon Lifehouse go to their website  https://caygalgonlifehouse.org/

• They have conducted a winter coat drive for S.T.A.R. (Serving To Aid and Restore). Volunteers would be needed for this one-time event. For more information on S.T.A.R. go to their website https://www.starbethlehempa.org/.

• During Advent they hold a Star Donation Event to raise money for the Mercy School for Special Learning. Volunteers are needed at the Sunday masses during Advent to assist with collecting donations for the stars made by the students at the school. For more information on the school go to https://www.mercyschool.org/.

• In the Fall of 2024 the Committee will begin to provide dinner services at Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering (BES). Volunteers will be needed to help with preparing food as well as serving and ministering to those who need shelter. For more information about BES, their website is https://bethlehememergencysheltering.org/.