Domestic Church Media will sponsor the second East Coast Catholic Family Conference Sept. 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Sun National Bank Center, 81 Hamilton Ave., Trenton.

The day-long conference, which will have as its theme, “Follow Me: A Call to Authentic Discipleship,” is open to folks of all ages and will feature inspiring speakers and musicians and conclude with the celebration of Mass. There will be opportunities for participants to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, attend Eucharistic Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, participate in a Eucharistic procession and browse the many vendors who will be on hand with a variety of Catholic goods.

Jim Manfredonia, who, along with his wife, Cheryl, founded DCM as a Catholic lay apostolate in 2003 with the goal of using the radio waves as a means for evangelization, emphasized that the conference is designed to give Catholics from around the region “an opportunity to come together for one day and celebrate our faith.”

“We would like to see our brother and sister Catholics come together for one day, fill this arena and rejoice in our faith and celebrate our Catholic heritage,” said Manfredonia, noting that DCM operates local radio stations WFJS 1260 AM and 89.3 FM and also produces “The Shepherd’s Voice,” an interactive radio program featuring Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., that airs on the first Friday of the month. “We need to know and understand what it means to be Catholic and especially how we can put our faith into action, how to live an active discipleship. We are called to be missionaries and evangelists.”

Conference speakers will include EWTN and Catholic radio favorites Johnnette Benkovic, Ralph Martin and Dr. Ray Guarendi.

Benkovic is founder and president of Living His Life Abundantly International, Inc., a Catholic evangelization apostolate with outreach ministries in television, radio, print and the Internet. She is also the founder of Women of Grace, a Catholic apostolate for Christian women that features a number of programs including conferences, curricula and study groups. She is executive producer of “The Abundant Life,” a television program on EWTN that discusses contemporary issues from a Catholic perspective, and she also hosts “Women of Grace”, a onehour talk show on AM/FM stations and short wave and satellite radios.

Benkovic has authored “Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life;” “Grace-Filled Moments;” “Living Life Abundantly: Stories of People Who Have Encountered God;” “Experience Grace In Abundance: Strategies For Your Spiritual Life,” and “The New Age Counterfeit.”

Martin is president of Renewal Ministries, an organization devoted to Catholic renewal and evangelization. Renewal Ministries is the sponsor of “The Choices We Face,” a weekly Catholic television and radio program distributed throughout the world that engages in a wide variety of mission work in more than 27 countries. Martin is also director of graduate theology programs in the New Evangelization and an associate professor of theology in Sacred Heart Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Detroit. He is the author of “Will Many Be Saved? What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization;” “The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints,” as well as other books and CDs on the spiritual life and the lives of the saints.

Guarendi is the father of 10, a clinical psychologist, author, public speaker and nationally syndicated radio host. His radio show, “The Doctor Is In,” can be heard weekdays on Ave Maria Radio and EWTN station affiliates as well as on Sirius satellite radio, channel 160.

Guarendi hosts his own national television show, “Living Right with Dr. Ray” and he has authored “You’re a Better Parent Than You Think,” which is currently in its 28th printing; “Back to the Family;” “Discipline That Lasts a Lifetime;” “Good Discipline;” “Great Teens;” “Adoption: Choosing It, Living It, Loving It;” “Raising Good Kids: Back to Family Basics,” and “Marriage: Small Steps, Big Rewards.”

Admission to the conference is $25 if purchased in advance or $35 at the door. Special group and family rates are available. For more information on the conference, visit www.domesticchurchmedia. org or call 609-882-9357.