We're quickly approaching the busiest weeks of the Church year: the marathon of Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter, with a packed spring of First Communions and weddings right on its heels (with maybe some Confirmations sprinkled in too for good measure).

What can get lost in the prep for all of that?

Promoting confession.

Specifically any diocesan-coordinated Days of Reconciliation, often held during Holy Week.

There's so much going on in these days that they can be easy to overlook in our communications, and just kind of get shoved in with everything else for Lent.

But these days are powerful moments of grace for people to be open to receiving God's mercy, which is kind of the whole point of everything else we do in church communications

So, while you figure out how to make sure you have enough priest coverage for the long hours of hearing confessions, I went ahead and started your marketing plan for it.

The first step is figuring out what your marketing message will be. Because just inviting people to "Day of Reconciliation" probably sounds like a foreign language to people who haven't been to confession in years.

One strategy we use in marketing is looking at opposition, and then focusing our marketing messaging on combatting that opposition.

So for confession we would ask: Why are people NOT going to confession?

Then, for each opposition, we would try to figure out a way we could solve that opposition in our messaging.

For confession, it might look like:

• The times are inconvenient.
  • This is easy. The weekday evenings that most of these Reconciliation services take place on solve this problem, so just call that out! "Hey, if you can't normally make it on Saturdays, this is a great time to come instead!"
• They don't understand why we go to confession, why confess to a priest, etc.
  • Great content for a homily or handout / email / social media share! I think these are always most convincing in the parish's "voice," but you can always direct people to a Fr. Mike, Bishop Barron, or Formed resource for more. Keep the teaching simple and focused on the infrequent confessor's "why?"
• They're nervous because it's been so long since they've been/they don't want to say their sins out loud.
  • More great content for homilies and communications! Emphasizing God's mercy, especially in connection with the "why" of Holy Week, is key here. And of course, even better if Father can say directly that he is not there to judge, often doesn't remember people's sins, confession is his favorite part of ministry, etc.
  • Consider even doing a "practice confession" as part of Mass, where you print out all of the steps on flyers to hand out and go through the parts together. And emphasize that you can walk in and say "I don't know what to do" and Father is happy to walk you through it and will be more joyful that you've returned than judging you for not being there for so many years or what you've done.

For all of these, we want to make sure, as always, that we're speaking the language of the people we want to convince and avoiding overly theological explanations or insider language.

Another idea is to pair other events or programs at the same time as the Day of Reconciliation.

For those who are nervous about going or committing to confessing, they can show up "just for the event" and then be convinced when they see how many other people are going to the sacrament as well.

For example, you could have pizza or a Lenten family activity in the parish hall going at the same time.

Or do something in the church to occupy people while they wait in line: Eucharistic Adoration, live praise and worship, prayer teams available, etc.

Oh and as a parent of small children: Consider offering childcare so parents can wait in line and go to confession in peace! It doesn't have to be anything too crazy: Some Lenten coloring sheets, Brother Francis Lenten videos, etc. But that might be another hold up we can eliminate.

Once you know your message and have created communications materials around it (flyers, graphics, etc.), we have to invite people! Here are a few ways to spread the word and get people attending.

Invite who is already there.

Are there any groups meeting or religious education classes going on at the same time? Be sure to have a special invite for those parents, and ask your ministry leads to share it with their lists as well.

Talk it up the week before.

Your ideal audience for these reconciliation days might not be connected to your digital channels, and almost definitely aren't reading the bulletin. So be sure to talk it up the Sunday before at Mass, especially if that happens to be Palm Sunday. Maybe even hand everyone a flyer for the Reconciliation Day along with their palms!

Back that up with communications.

I know it's tough with Easter following quickly after, but give your Reconciliation Day its own communications push too if you can! All of the normal channels of course, but I would also highly advocate for a dedicated email, outdoor signage, and flyers to hand out/leave in the pews for an event of this importance.

Promote outside the church too.

Don't forget to promote outside the church for this one too! You might consider a localized digital ad or community bulletin boards, calendars, and radio announcements as well, especially if your marketing message is strong and focused on mercy and welcoming those who wouldn't normally even consider going to confession or church.

Prayers that many avail themselves of this incredible sacrament of mercy this Lent (and that you have enough priests to cover it all!).

For His greater glory,

Emily

P.S. I'm considering moving some of these longer posts to my blog so they have more longevity and I can link to past ones easier. Could you let me know how you'd be more likely to read these? I want them to be most helpful to you and am wondering if having them saved somewhere to read later might be easier or if you're less likely to read it all if you have to click out of the email.

Holy Week Marketing Plan I'll be talking about Easter next week, but if you want to get a head start, here's last year's Holy Week marketing plan guide. Read article