Inhale in, exhale out.

Ahhhh. Feel refreshed from the craziness of Holy Week and Easter?

Good.

Because now it's Crazy Church Time Part 2: Sacrament Season.

In the stress of making sure the ten thousand tiny felt pieces of everyone's First Communion banner are still attached,

And reiterating for the 15th time to your spring brides that no, they cannot walk down the aisle to their favorite pop song...

...we can forget the evangelization opportunity this season brings.

Understandably, our communications focus shifts to the transactional: Bring this, wear that, sit here, park there —

But the communications that impart deadlines overcrowd the communications that impact souls.

This sacrament season, I want to challenge you as much as possible: Try to infuse relationship into your transactional communications.

➡️ When sharing what First Communicants need to wear, take a few moments to share the spiritual symbolism behind it or offer to connect them with parishioners who have old communion outfits they're willing to share.

➡️ When talking to brides about deadlines, also add a line with a suggestion on how they can prepare spiritually. Share that you're praying for their upcoming marriage, and check in to see how they're doing.

➡️ When you have to have the tricky conversations about why someone is not qualified to be a godparent or sponsor, boldly explain the truth in love, but also offer to help them find someone and sympathize that it can be difficult, but the Church wants what's best for their child AND them (so they have help raising them in the faith!).

➡️ And in all of these, try to infuse prayer, spiritual preparation, and relationship: Share a read aloud of a book about the Mass or Eucharist to help them get excited (I love this one!), tell them that there are a group of parishioners who have been praying a novena for them, share First Communion or Confirmation pictures of your pastor or Religious Ed director, etc.

Because we know that sadly, for many, sacraments are not steps on the journey — they're seen as a graduation.

And since they see the reception of the sacrament as an ending, we have to view our communications through "peak end."

In marketing, peak end theory explains that we are most likely to remember the highlight of our experience (the peak) as well as the last thing we experience.

So we will remember the excitement of finding the perfect phone, as well as the delivery experience.

Even if the actual purchase was smooth, if the box arrives crushed, we'll remember that just as much, since that was the last thing we experienced.

So in the case of sacraments, they're most likely to remember the sacrament itself as the peak and then these final communications as the end.

So do we want their final impression of us to be transactional or relational?

It raises the bar for these final communications, since they will be remembered, for good or bad.

(Hint: This is why sacramental follow-up is SO important. You want to ensure that the last thing they hear from you leaves an impression — so a generic "come pick up your certificate in a box at the office" might fall flat, but that's what they'll remember.)

The other group we have a huge opportunity to impact this season are the guests.

You have no idea who is walking through those church doors for the first time in a looooong time these next two months.

They're there to support their loved one...but they are also beloved by God, and He wants to win them too.

I know you've got a lot on your plate this season, and much of the relational communications above I can't help much with since they're one-to-one.

But this I can!

To save you some time, I started something for you that you can give out to guests at sacraments this season.

​You can grab your free "sacrament evangelization" template right here.​

(If you grabbed this last year, here's your reminder to go update it and print them out!)

In it, I give you Mad Libs style fill-in-the-blank prompts that help explain the sacrament, encourage them to participate, and share how they can inquire about receiving sacraments themselves if they have a profound experience of Jesus.

All written in real, relatable language.

At best? They'll reach out to take their own next faith steps.

At worst? They get a positive, welcoming impression of your church, and thus Catholicism.

I truly believe that besides the Eucharist and sacramental graces, some sort of evangelization communication is the most important thing you can give out this sacrament season.

They're there early anyway.

They're in the presence of the Lord who is dying (pun intended) to pour out His mercy and grace upon them.

This simple flyer* might be the small nudge they need to open their hearts just the tiniest of bits so He can flood inside.

Inhale in, exhale out.

You've got this.

HE'S got this.

Summer is almost here.

But this? This is the work, THIS is the moment, He put you in this position for.

And He will give you everything you need to accomplish His will.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Send us your grace. Send us your wisdom. Send us a divine energy boost.

And maybe some coffee too.

For His greater glory,

Emily

* P.S. Yes, I know you are going to get discouraged putting out these flyers.

Why?

Because you'll be picking a whole lot of them up after that were left in the pews.

"It didn't work!" you'll think.

That's the thing with print communications though — they require a lot of trust.

We don't have analytics on them. We have no way of knowing the impact they had on hearts and souls even if they were left behind.

Print church communications are like the sower in Matthew 13: Sometimes, we have to sow everywhere, without knowing where the good soil will be.

So as you collect leftover flyers, pray for those who read them and left them behind, that they take root you may never see.

Jesus, I trust in You.

Incredible (and yummy!) fundraising idea I LOVED this idea from the Diocese of Scranton, where priests around the diocese shared recipes and parishioners were able to vote for their favorite while raising money for Catholic Social Services. It reminded me of my childhood parish, where one of the fundraising items each year was the opportunity to have dinner cooked by the pastor, who was an incredible chef. Anything that builds relationships, shows how clergy are real people, and raises money at the same time is a win! Read article

Free Sacrament Evangelization Flyer Want to evangelize your guests at this year's sacraments? I got a free Canva flyer template started for you — just fill in the blanks Mad Libs style and print! Free Template