Society for the Found Sheep prays for those who have fallen away from the Church

Once a month, Patty Fletcher writes down the names of those she’s praying for and lays them at the foot of the altar.

For the past two years, Fletcher and others have been meeting at St. Clement of Rome in Des Peres as part of the Society of the Found Sheep. The parish started the ministry as a way to pray for the return of those who have left the Church.

On the second Tuesday evening of the month, the group gathers at church and prays the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, the chaplet of the Good Shepherd and a surrender novena, among others. While they pray, members write down the names of those they’re praying for on an index card and place them in a basket near the altar. Guest speakers give reflections on topics each month, meant to encourage and inspire them as they continue praying for each other.

Fletcher reached out to Jane Guenther, director of the archdiocesan Catholic Renewal Center, to help spread the word about the ministry to other parishes. The Renewal Center developed a prayer guide and has shared it, along with other resources, with other parishes. To date, 11 chapters have been formed or are in the process of starting.

Fletcher said the ministry’s “action” is placing their intentions in God’s hands and relying on Him to lead His sheep back to Him. “We know in our silence and surrender that God is working,” she said. “It’s in that surrender that you see things happening.”

At the August meeting at St. Clement, Fletcher told about two dozen people attending that “we don’t have all the answers, but the one who sits with us this evening does. We come together to offer to God our hearts and all those souls whom He has placed on our hearts. We will find refuge and direction and the peace that we embrace as we listen to the one who speaks in the quietest times.”

In addition to prayer, members adhere to four other components: hope, trust, fasting and making sacrifices, said Charlie Sickmann, who leads a chapter at St. Peter Parish in St. Charles. “This is a 365-day ministry, so you better be saying one of the prayers. You better be fasting occasionally. You better be sacrificing every day,” Sickmann said.

In several cases, members of the ministry at St. Peter have gifted tall votive candles to those they’ve been praying for. A woman in the group who had been praying for her brother’s return to the Church presented him with a candle after he had become gravely ill and eventually had a conversion before he died.

Another candle was given to the sister of a woman in the group who was inspired to start going to church again after their mother unexpectedly died. “She fell and hit the nightstand, and there was a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Sickmann said. “When they found her, she was holding the statue in her lap.”

Fletcher said sometimes the ministry hears success stories, but they recognize that in many cases, they may never hear about the fruits of their prayers. “The Holy Spirit moves at His own pace,” she said. “I have been put in situations in the past six months where I am hearing from people who know others who are coming back to the Church.”

Chris Normile, who has attended a few meetings at St. Clement, said her prayer intentions have largely focused on embracing all who are lost and have turned away from the faith.

“The world is a difficult place right now, and so my prayer is really more about everybody returning to faith, because I think that’s the only way we’re going to find true happiness,” Normile said.

Outside of the monthly prayer gatherings, Fletcher makes a commitment to pray every day that God’s sheep will return to Him. “It’s carrying everybody with you every day, like you would your own family,” she said. “I can put those people in my heart and pray specifically for them. Every day I sit down and I pray, and I know everybody here is doing the same thing. How powerful is that?”

“We come together to offer to God our hearts and all those souls whom He has placed on our hearts. We will find refuge and direction and the peace that we embrace as we listen to the one who speaks in the quietest times.” – Patty Fletcher

“Meet Them at the Well”

The Western Vicariate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis will host “Meet Them at the Well: Walking with Our Loved Ones Who Have Left the Church” from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Oct. 25, at Sts. Joachim and Ann Church, 4112 McClay Road in St. Charles.

Participants will learn how to talk to adult children who have left the Church, practice sharing their faith story with others, hear practical dos and don’ts and strategies for addressing roadblocks to returning to church. Registration is required at stlreview.com/3JOVfc4. For more information, contact Tammy Chumley at tammychumley@archstl.org or (314) 604-0925.