The missions, all on the Pacific island of Guam, are St. John the Divine Episcopal Church and St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, both in Tumon Bay, and St. Andrew by the Philippine Sea Episcopal Church in Agat. A joint service of the three churches was held on June 17 with Helmer celebrating. He was assisted by the Rev. ("Padi") Irene Maliaman from St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Saipan, the neighboring island, which is also part of the ECIM.

Harold Parker, representing George E. Packard, the Episcopal Church’s Bishop Suffragan for Chaplaincies, led the congregation in prayers for Helmer and passed along Packard’s greetings. A Guam-style fiesta followed the service during which Helmer and his wife, Jane, got their first initiation to many Filipino treats.

Helmer held a get-acquainted workshop on June 16 during which members of the three Guam churches, the church in Saipan and the St. John's School gathered to talk about the future of the Church in Guam and Saipan. The gathering broke into various work groups for some initial planning for the ECIM over the next two months. It was decided that there would be a joint service of the three Guam congregations at least once every quarter, that Maliaman would come to Guam every other month, and there would be an effort to get the youth groups reorganized.

In addition, some planning was done for Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's visit on Thanksgiving Day. A joint service will be held at St. John's together with brief visits to the other two churches and the school.

ECIM is one of 12 Episcopal Church dioceses or other jurisdictions outside of the United States. The complete list is here.

Helmer served in the Episcopal Church's Office of Congregational Development from 1999 to 2005 as missioner for rural and small church communities.