March and November Weekends Offered
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Nearly every young adult who has made a Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) weekend has come back convinced that he or she has made a new discovery - that Christ is really alive today and that he lives in each of us. A tremendous revelation! This is the thrust of the spiritual weekend program that has come to be known simply as TEC. The TEC program is certainly not a new movement in the Catholic Church, but enthusiasms among young people for this experience is growing rapidly in the face of an almost amoral society. TEC programs are available in and around most metropolitan areas of the United States, and they are open to young adults between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, regardless of faith. TEC is an individual experience for everyone on the weekend, whether he or she is a seasoned team member or a first-time participant. |
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TEC is a three-day weekend beginning on Saturday morning and ending Monday evening. The TEC team consists of priests, seminarians, nuns, lay adults, and teen who have previously participated in TEC weekends. Each new participant is informally interviewed on Saturday morning by the weekend's lay directors (usually a married couple) and the religious director (a priest). The Tecites, as the new participants are called, are then assigned quarters and called to an "ice-breaker" session where they meet the other young adults land team members making the weekend. The weekend sometimes resembles a campout, with sleeping bags and few of the comforts of home (according to the facilities available). But essentially it is a retreat, with time for individual reflection and prayer. Religious music, both joyous and solemn, with guitar accompaniment, plays an important part in emphasizing the theme, "Make a joyous noise unto the Lord." |
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Individual team members share their experiences of Christ as he lives and moves in their lives. The sacraments and their meaning in today's Church and in the lives of everyone present are also discussed. Group discussion and participation, chapel visits, sharing in the Eucharist, and the joy of just being yourself without social pressure or outside influences are all elements that go into making each weekend a quiet, personal experience. |
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What makes the weekend so special? Just what is it that sends the young people.e home glorying in the love of the Lord and in g mystery that cannot be explained, but must be experienced. The weekend belongs to the Lord and He takes full control. Part of the initial beauty of TEC is the closeness of the team members. This closeness is immediately evident to all new participants. The team spends several weeks prior to the TEC weekend preparing for the sharing sessions: praying, working of the physical necessities, and drawing closer to the Lord. Many adults and teens have said that one of the best things about the TEC program is that each participant may follow up at a later date by becoming a member of the TEC team, although there is no obligation to do so. |
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This follow-up is a good opportunity to share what they have gained and, in the words of some team members, "to let your light shine." The goals of the TEC weekend are as simple as the makeup of the weekend itself; to become more aware that Christ lives in each of us land to accept oneself and others as valuable creations of our Lord. |
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Reactions to the weekend are as many and varied as the number of individuals participating, but the Lord seems to weave one thread through the lives of all - that spark of light in each of us that is Christ. Those who work for and with the TEC program have learned to see each young adult as an unlit candle waiting for Christ's flame. Every young man and woman standing on the street corner, loitering in a parking lot, cheering at a ball game, leaning over a pool table in a questionable bar, or gyrating to the twangs of Who, Kiss, or other rock groups is a potential Tecite. Each is beautiful in a very special way. |
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Although many miracles have been witnessed on TEC weekends across the country, TEC promises no such thing. Many young adults have found meaning and purpose for their lives and have returned home forever changed. Others have returned home to make the same mistakes and to live the same problems. But none have returned without having experienced some kind of inner change. Team members receive dozens of letters from Tecites relating their experiences when they returned home, how they themselves have changed or how their lives have changed. The enthusiastically share their plans for the future, their joys and disappointments, and most of all, their need to help others in some way. |
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The letters, the shared moments at a chance meeting, the joy, and even the tears - these are the rewards and the encouragement for those who have spent many hours in preparation for the weekends. "TEC is people . . . the living Church," said a sixteen-year-old high school student. "Now I know that God loves me too." |
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