New York City, N.Y., Oct 3, 2014 / 18:40 pm

Upcoming prayer breakfasts in New York City and Washington, D.C., seek to inform and equip attendees to be active participants in the New Evangelization.

"REACH is an opportunity for local community members to gather in prayer and fellowship, to encounter Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, to hear the words of inspirational speakers, and to learn more about how they can live out the evangelical mission of the Church in their families, parishes, workplaces, and communities," FOCUS said on its website for the event.

FOCUS – the Fellowship of Catholic University Students – is a student missionary organization relying upon young evangelists at college campuses. The organization has seen tremendous growth over the past 16 years, expanding from one campus with two part-time missionaries to now 99 campuses with over 400 full-time missionaries.

The REACH breakfasts seek to expand this reach, offering prayer, fellowship, information and inspiration. The New York and D.C. communities – including young adults, professionals, parents, religious and parishioners – are invited to hear about the New Evangelization and learn about tools to live out their faith while sharing it with others.

"You will hear from experts in evangelization who will discuss what the call for a New Evangelization means for you and how you can live it out daily, equipping you with spiritual and practice resources to reach out effectively with the love of Christ in a way others can understand and embrace," the FOCUS website stated.

This year's New York REACH breakfast will take place on Thursday, Oct. 16. It will start off at 7:30 a.m. with a rosary and Mass at the Church of Notre Dame on West 114 Street. The main celebrant for the Mass is Fr. Allan White, the director of the Catholic Center at NYU.

Following Mass, the breakfast will be held at the faculty house, where the keynote presenter Dr. Jonathan Reyes will be speaking. Dr. Reyes is the executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Fr. Daniel P. O'Reilly, director of Columbia Catholic Ministry, will also be present as the emcee.

Washington, D.C. will also hold a REACH breakfast, taking place on Thursday, Nov. 20. It will begin at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel on Connecticut Avenue with a 6:30 a.m. rosary and Mass, which will be celebrated by Fr. Arne Panula, an Opus Dei priest and the director of the Catholic Information Center.

After Mass, the REACH breakfast will be held at 7:30 a.m., with a keynote address from Jeff Cavins, creator of the Great Adventure Bible Study, and founding host of EWTN's weekly program Life on the Rock. Lila Rose, president of Live Action, a group that conducts undercover investigations at abortion clinics, will serve as emcee.

More information about REACH and the prayer breakfasts can be found at www.focus.org/reach.