Sister Helene Higgins entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1965. Her first assignment was to cook for the community. How times have changed!

Today, she is a parish and community outreach worker for New Hampshire Catholic Charities, but along the way, she has also been a student, a high school teacher, a college professor, and a campus minister. She has lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Idaho, and Alabama.

In her current ministry, in New Hampshire's seacoast region, Sister Helene juggles a dozen different tasks and responsibilities on any given day. She admits there is much to discourage her, but she remains optimistic and sees good in the world. "It's important to have a good sense of humor, too!" she said.

In her outreach work, Sister Helene helps connect people to needed services, and making those connections makes every day varied and challenging. For example, on a recent Friday, she counseled a family about their child; advised three families on how to get financial aid to restore their electricity; spoke with a homeless man who needed everything; consulted the Dover Share Fund about providing assistance to a family; prepared paperwork for her Protecting God's Children workshop in Portsmouth; planned a presentation on the Catholic Church teaching on the death penalty; and sifted through a collection of donated items for distribution to needy families.

During one week recently, Sister Helene was out every evening attending various meetings, including one on palliative care, and one on hospice training. Besides serving on several community-based boards, her current to-do list includes writing a press release for the local newspaper about donation solicitation, and planning a meeting with a U.S. Census Bureau representative about how to reach those without a permanent address, who may be in shelters or living in their cars.

Besides the everyday responsibilities, Catholic Charities is entering perhaps the busiest time of year, the holiday season. Sister Helene explained that Catholic Charities works hard to provide food baskets for Thanksgiving and Christmas gifts for families. Catholic Charities works closely with the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots campaign, and also receives gift donations from parishes. How does she get everything done? "It's best to prioritize, but there are things we can't help people with. We just do the best we can."

From her home in Dover, N.H., Sister Helene said, "We connect people with needs with agencies that can help, but the needs today are so great, and there is so little available now, due to the current economic situation." But, she continued, "We keep trying to find new resources, and, in fact, Catholic Charities could not operate without the people in the pews. The individual parishes often call and offer to help."

Commenting on her varied work as a Sister of St. Joseph, Sister Helene said, "I am grateful I made the choices I made; I didn't settle." Indeed, after teaching business courses at both high school and at Aquinas Jr. College in Milton, she studied spirituality for a year, and then began 20 years in campus ministry, the first at Plymouth (N.H.) State College.

Her next campus ministry position brought her to St. Francis University Parish in Tuscaloosa, AL, ministering to the students. Once, Sister Helene led a group of 12 students from the center to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. Another year, Sister stated, she took six students from St. John Catholic student center at Idaho State University, where she worked, to Tijuana, Mexico. She appreciates the opportunities of seeing different parts of the country. "It makes my world bigger, and I have friends all over; I keep connected."

Along the way, she also earned her master's degree in pastoral ministry from St. Michael's College in Vermont. Looking back on her years at colleges, she said, "I loved campus ministry, but one day, I realized it was time to move on," bringing her to her present ministry.

Years ago, Sister Helene's spiritual director reminded her: "You’re not in this for yourself. Blessed is she who comes in the name of the Lord. Every day you go out there in the name of God." Now, Sister Helene said, "I am reminded of that everyday. It sustains me. It does not make my ministry easier, but it often gives me courage to ask difficult questions and challenge injustices." ł