In The Beginning... The first TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) weekend was held in Battle
Creek, Michigan, on October 7-9, 1965. Fr. Matthew Fedewa and Sr. Mary Concetta,
RSM (Dorothy Gereke) ran a three day spiritual retreat for the high school
senior boys. A "snow day" occurred the day after the retreat and the local
newspaper carried a picture of some of the high school boys from the retreat
shoveling snow for the elderly and shut-ins. This picture made it to the
national press and reprinted across the country as evidence that the young
generation had great potential for service. Fr. Fedewa and Sr. Concetta knew
that they had something and they continued to develop the TEC weekend. Over the
next three years, they held over 100 TEC retreat weekends.
The Growth of TEC...
Although Fr. Fedewa and Sr. Concetta were moved to other assignments, the TEC
movement took hold and quickly spread. By 1968 TEC centers were started in
Andover, Boston; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Chicago; Cincinnati; Ft. Wayne, IN; and
Dubuque, Iowa. Since then, it has spread across the country and around the
world, to include Italy, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Korea, and the Czech
Republic. Today there are more than 80 TEC centers in the United States.
Military TEC (Troops Encounter Christ) focuses on soldiers and military members,
and have centers at West Point, NY; Fort Bragg, NC; Military District of
Washington (MDW/ TEC); Fort Hood, TX; Fort Drum, NY; and Germany is starting a
military TEC center. Other programs have also sprouted from TEC, including REC
(Residents Encounter Christ), which is a TEC for prisoners, and HEC (Handicapped
Encounter Christ).
Home in Atlanta...
Atlanta TEC started in 1990 and ministered to high school teens. We had eight
TEC weekends in five years. In 1995, we had some leadership issues and Atlanta
TEC went dormant for a while. During this time, several members of the TEC
community met monthly and prayed about the future of Atlanta TEC. In November
1996, Janice Murphy started as the Director of Young Adult Ministry for the
Archdiocese of Atlanta. In February of 1997, Janice and several other young
adults went on a TEC retreat in Kentucky with the goal of getting it started
again in Atlanta. Since the LIFETEEN program was very strong in Atlanta, but
there was no retreat program for Young Adults (YAs), the TEC community decided
to adapt TEC for young adults. Our first YA TEC (TEC #9) was held August 1-3,
1997 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Since then, we have had over twenty TEC weekends,
and nearly 700 young adults have experienced Christ through the TEC weekend.
Beyond Atlanta... Twenty-five members of the Atlanta TEC community traveled to Miami, FL, to
help with Miami Sonshine TEC #1 in February 2006. This was a great
opportunity for the Atlanta TEC community to continue serving Christ through the
service of others.
Staying Connected...
There are many ways to stay connected to your new "family":
Our email list has over 400 members. Messages include prayer requests,
inspirational messages, TEC activities, and other activities (we also have a
"mini-list" for those with limited email access).
Daily Mass with other TECers at various churches: Catholic Center, KSU
(with Fr. Linus), GA Tech, CTK, and other parishes.
Be a part of team on a future TEC or just come to the Hoot and Reunion.
