By Kelley Kepler
Catholic Herald

Diocese marks 25th anniversary of TEC

SUPERIOR -- A growing number of Catholics in northern Wisconsin have experienced TEC first hand or know someone who has attended a TEC retreat. Most likely they have heard stories from TECites who began a retreat not knowing what to expect, admitting they were reluctant to attend -- even skeptical -- about the thought of being locked in a parish school for three days, without showers or comfortable beds, while exploring their faith with thirty others in the same predicament.

Chances are, these same individuals will continue their stories by saying they enjoyed the retreat so much that they didn't want to leave when the weekend was over, that TEC touched their lives, brought a new dimension to their faith and helped them form many deep, lasting friendships.

TEC, which stands for Teens Encounter Christ, is a three-day retreat program based on the paschal mystery and focused on bringing the experience of Christ's death and resurrection to life. Originally designed for youth age 16 and older, the program has expanded to include adults of all ages.

Fr. Matthew Fedewa, a priest in the Lansing, Mich., diocese, designed the program for high school seniors as part of his master's project. In 1965, the very first TEC weekend took place in Lansing where it was met with great success. The program quickly grew and branched out to other parishes in the Midwest.

The first TEC weekend held in the Superior diocese was May 6-8, 1978, at St. Joseph Church in Amery, with 26 teens and adults participating. Since then, the TEC ministry has touched the hearts and lives of thousands, young and old alike, throughout northern Wisconsin. This year TEC marks its 25th anniversary in the diocese.

Sr. Bonnie Alho, OSM, pastoral associate at St. Joseph Parish in Rice Lake, is one person who helped bring TEC to the diocese. She, Tom Toohey, who was then the diocesan director of religious education, and others had attended a TEC weekend in St. Paul, Minn. They were so impressed with the retreat that they asked the St. Paul diocese to help them start up a program in Superior.

After setting the program in place, they went on to help other dioceses in LaCrosse, Green Bay, central Minnesota and South Dakota start TEC centers of their own.

Janet Drey is the director of the TEC Conference, the central office based in Des Moines, Iowa. According to her, there are now about 80 TEC centers in the U.S., the majority of which are located in the Midwest. There are also centers located internationally in the Bahamas, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, South Korea and Lithuania.

In addition, a number of Eastern European countries that were formerly under Communist rule are still rebuilding their churches and are interested in starting TEC programs, Drey said.

She estimated that 10,000 young people experience TEC each year at one of about 300 weekends that are held throughout the world.

Because the Superior diocese is so spread out, TEC weekends take place in many different locations, in hopes of giving everyone the opportunity to attend. The last weekend, for instance, took place in Merrill on June 20-22. The next one (TEC 176) will occur August 8-10 in Osceola.

Also in attempt to reach all members of the diocese, the early TEC board chose to name the program Agape TEC, rather than Superior TEC. Alho explained that agape is "the Greek word for unconditional love, a community kind of love that reaches out to all different kinds of people."

Alho, who has made over 35 retreats, has been on the TEC board many years and was presented the Spirit of TEC award in 1999, said she felt uncomfortable when she attended her first TEC weekend.

She said initially she thought, "This is good for the kids, but this isn't really for me." Later she realized it was for her too; it was for everyone. "I needed it for me too. Once I saw that, I really appreciated the gift that TEC was in my life, and I have seen it work on thousands of people over the years," she said.

Gwen Nies, diocesan TEC coordinator and DRE at the Osceola-Balsam Lake cluster, said TEC weekends are geared toward young people and many confirmation students attend to fulfill their retreat requirement. However, it's never too late for mature adults to go.

Nies has seen people in their 80s attend TEC for the first time. "Sometimes we even have three generations at the same weekend. The adults say they like being accepted as a kid, and the kids enjoy seeing the youth in adults," she said.

So what happens at TEC?

Without giving away any secrets, Dick Peterson, also from Osceola, explained that the three days correlate with the liturgical seasons of Lent, Easter and Pentecost.

The first day is "Die Day," in which participants reflect on life and die to sin and the things that keep them away from God. The second day, "Rise Day," is a joyous Easter celebration, and TECites focus on the risen Lord and their own rebirth from sin. On the third day, "Go Day," they focus on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and talk about going out and being disciples.

Approximately 25-30 people attend each retreat, and they are put in groups of five or six, at tables with people they don't know. A number of volunteers who have already attended a weekend act as table leaders to give talks and to lead discussions, ice-breaking activities and faith sharing among the group.

A spiritual director, who is a priest, also takes part in each weekend. With help from the priest, participants pay special attention to the sacraments of reconciliation, Eucharist, confirmation and baptism.

While the weekend encourages TECites to meditate and reflect on their faith and Scripture, they are also given a chance to socialize, play games and take part in physical activities. "There are real serious times and real fun times," Peterson said.

"TEC is one of the best things we've got going in our diocese. I would do anything for that program," he said. "I've seen it affect lives of many kids in a positive way, and many return as team members. TEC helps them be with folks their own age, reflect on their faith and be with people who have similar values."

Peterson made his first TEC retreat 10 years ago after students in his confirmation class found out he had never attended one. He had expected to go just once for the students and be done with it, but to his surprise, he has been involved in TEC ever since.

"What really impressed me over the course of the three days was that some of the meditations were given by young people, and they were more excited about their faith than I was," he said.

Over the years, TEC has made a profound impact on Peterson and influenced his decision to become a deacon. He is one of many men in the diocese who discovered their vocation to the diaconate or priesthood after taking part in TEC.

At TEC, he said, "One of the things we talked about was going out and spreading the good news. I made up my mind that I had some gifts and talents that I could offer the church, and it was time for me to do something about it."

He is currently in his fourth year of study and expects to be ordained a deacon for the Osceola-Balsam Lake cluster early next year.

Claire Laasko, a member of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Superior, attended her first TEC weekend in November 2001. She participated because family members had already experienced TEC and "highly suggested" she attend a retreat.

At the time Laasko was a junior in high school, and she was not thrilled at her expectations that the weekend would consist of constant singing and praying. "I was a little skeptical at first. I'm not really an outgoing, church-crazy person. But it is more than just a church experience. It was a growing experience and still is."

Since then she has returned to several TEC retreats to serve as a table leader. She likes to meet new people and lead her peers through what she has found to be a valuable experience. Laasko plans to help at the August TEC in Osceola before she starts school at Carroll College, Milwaukee, where she will study pre-physical therapy and exercise science.

Overall, TEC helped her gain a deeper appreciation for her faith and the Catholic Church. "I went from just going to church and going through the motions, to having emotion behind it. It makes you a more whole person when you realize what the religion in your life actually means," she said.

It took three years for a friend to convince Dewey Barker to attend his first TEC weekend. That was six years ago, and Barker has been thinking about TEC and volunteering at retreats ever since.

Barker, a member of St. Joseph Parish, Barron, joined the Catholic Church 14 years ago. He had no religious upbringing, but decided later in life that he would join the church and raise his children Catholic.

Like Laasko, he said TEC transformed his faith life. "It was an epiphany in my faith," he said. "Before I thought I was a good Catholic because I went to church every Sunday. I didn't have a clue there was that much more to my faith life."

Through the experience Barker realized that God loves him, is always with him and forgives all his sins. "I always had this emptiness inside, and I could never fill it, but when I left that weekend, I felt complete for the first time," he said.

Barker described God's love as something that defies the laws of physics. When speaking of material things, generally, the more one gives away, the less one has to give. With love it's different, he said; "The more of God's love you give away, the more you have to give."

Mike and Fern Gomulak of Superior first got involved in TEC when the youngest of their four children attended a weekend. Since then, they have been involved for over 20 years and have served several years on the board.

Fern said TEC has made a positive impact on the whole family. "It's brought us closer as a family, and it's also brought us closer to the church. It's an opportunity to get away from your ordinary life and spend some time with your family, and with God, thinking about what is important in life," she said.

"I learned from other people how they deal with problems and realized everyone has their problems. But what a blessing it is that we have the faith to help us!" Fern said.

Mike said he had gone to church all his life but had never felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. "You hear all the time about the Holy Spirit, but if you've never been touched by it, it's like they're all speaking in a foreign language," he said.

His first TEC retreat, Mike said, resulted in him being "clobbered by the Holy Spirit."

He had been reluctant to attend the retreat and didn't even enjoy the first weekend because he is uncomfortable around large groups of unfamiliar people. However, Mike said that as he was driving home, he had a sudden experience of the Holy Spirit and realized how important the retreat had been for him.

"Everything in my life changed after that, and I gained a great desire to serve others and allow them to take part in the retreat," he added.

Sr. Casimira Benbenek, OSM, attended TEC 9 in 1979. She is presently DRE at St. Mary Parish in Tomahawk and serves as chair of the diocesan TEC board. She said her goal is to help "keep (TEC) as vibrant as what it was 25 years ago."

When Fedewa developed the TEC program, she explained, "he wanted something that would not only contribute to book knowledge, but to heart knowledge." Over the years, Benbenek has been pleased to witness so many ways in which TEC has touched lives in this heart knowledge sort of way.

She also finds Fedewa's message, that young people should not to underestimate themselves or sell themselves short because they never know what God will do with their lives, to be extremely important today.

Nies said the longevity of TEC is not surprising considering all the people who care about the program and put their time and effort into making it a success. "We have many wonderful adults and teachers who are infused in God's love, and that's contagious. And when you've got God and the Spirit behind it, that's the biggest plus," she said.

In addition to TEC weekends, Nies added that there are newsletters, prayer gatherings, a yearly international convention (the last one was held recently, June 6-8, in Green Bay) and a picnic gathering each summer to keep TECites in touch with each other.

All TECites, she said, are invited to a 25th anniversary gathering on July 20, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Dobie. The celebration will start at 1 p.m. and include Mass with Bishop Raphael M. Fliss at 4 p.m., games, music, a potluck supper, a chance to vote for the new board members and the presentation of three Spirit of TEC awards.

"We will also recognize the parishes that have hosted the TEC weekends, because without their generosity, we wouldn't be able to do this," Nies said.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2003