25 Years Of TEC
This year, the Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) Movement is celebrating its 25th anniversary in the Diocese of Evansville.
TEC #95 will take place from July 23-25 at St. Mary's Parish in Ireland.
TEC is an international retreat model that began in Lansing, Mich., in 1965. The movement aims to “offer to youth and young adults the opportunity to encounter and integrate this Paschal Mystery at a time of passage through young adulthood,” according to its mission statement.
The TEC movement took off in the diocese of Evansville in 1991 when Rick Etienne, at the time Director of Youth Ministry for the diocese, witnessed TEC’s impact in the nearby dioceses of Bellville, Ill., and Owensboro, Ky. After taking a team to TEC in Bellville, Etienne invited members of the Bellville and Owensboro dioceses to facilitate the first TEC in southwest Indiana. Since then, it has flourished in the diocese, spurring generations of participants to continue making the experience available to young people.
TEC is known for its lasting impact, often shaping the vocations of its participants. Many “TECites” (as participants are called) respond to vocations to the priesthood and religious life, or to leadership roles within parishes and dioceses. Father Bernie Etienne, pastor of Holy Rosary Parish in Evansville and Diocesan Vicar General (and brother to Rick Etienne), attributes this correlation to the loving community that the weekend fosters. “TEC is a place for people to look into their own callings, become more open to the possibility, be supported to talk about it,” he said.
He also notes that the retreat provides a setting for young people to experience what they’ve grown up hearing and talking about. He said that participants “come away with a lived experience of Christ and of belonging to a Christian community,” allowing them to “translate head knowledge of faith to heart.”
Father Etienne experienced this community firsthand—he participated in TEC 1 as a seminarian. “The TEC movement reinforced my understanding of my own calling to the priesthood,” he said. Since then, Fr. Etienne has served as spiritual director for more than 16 TECs and chaplain on other TEC weekends, once receiving the Spirit of TEC Award, granted by the National TEC Conference.
Father Etienne added that TEC’s central themes continue to play a prominent role in his vocation. “Much of the theology I work out of as a priest is theology central to the TEC movement, particularly the Paschal Mystery,” he said.
The lasting power of TEC can also be witnessed in the lives and careers of other diocesan leaders. Diocesan Director of Worship Matt Miller said he was deeply affected by his TEC involvement. Miller made his first TEC retreat while in college. He remembers, “It was one of the first experiences I had, not only of a bigger Church than my parish, but of a more intimate encounter with Christ and His Church in the people on the weekend.” He added, “The focus that the weekend puts on living the Paschal Mystery . . . living a life in Christ, following Christ’s model of Life, Death, Resurrection. That speaks to me today, looking back years later.”
After attending TEC, Miller went on to assist with numerous TECs. He held various positions, including lay director. Miller believes that his TEC experience helped lead him to a faith-oriented career. “My participation in TEC at that point in my life is one of the reasons I am who I am today, why I live and how I live,” he said.
Andie Gunter, administrative assistant for the Office of Catechesis, also describes her TEC experience as one of enduring value. Gunter attended TEC as a high school junior. “TEC helped me see that God wanted to be a part of my everyday life,” she said. “High school can be a time of searching and insecurity, and I think having a stronger faith helped me stay more centered and enjoy that time more instead of feeling unsure of myself.”
After making the retreat, Gunter and several friends started a faith-sharing group, meeting once a week at 6 a.m. “We talked about how Jesus died and rose from the dead and how we had experienced his death and resurrection in our lives that week,” she remembers. “I still think along those lines. When something difficult happens, I know there is a resurrection coming.” Gunter also served the TEC community by assisting with a TEC every year for the next 10 years. Like Miller, she served in multiple capacities, including music leader and lay director.
Gunter cites the relationship with Christ that began at TEC as the reason her faith factors into her career and family today. “TEC strengthened my faith and started me on a journey,” she said. “I think my life would be very different if it weren’t for TEC.”
