What Is TEC?

Theological Foundation

TEC is a Catholic movement that invites older teens and young adults to enter into and embrace Christ’s Paschal Mystery in a personal and profound way. The symbol of a grain of wheat, as described by Christ in John’s Gospel, is featured prominently in TEC to help break open the sequence of Jesus’s death, resurrection and ascension, flowing into Pentecost. The mystery of his life-giving death is at the heart of what we believe as Catholics, affecting who we are and how we see ourselves.

TEC participants begin by experiencing a three-day retreat that echoes the liturgical year. Both the activities and their sequence are prayerfully designed to create a space where emerging adults can have a deep, loving, personal encounter with Christ. He is truly present throughout each TEC weekend through sacramental opportunities such as Mass and Reconciliation, as well as Eucharistic Adoration, engaging speakers, discussion and lots of fun while spending time with peers.

TEC is authentically Catholic, and participants are encouraged to enter fully into all that is being celebrated. The flow of the weekend aims to help the young person experience how much God loves him or her and is calling him or her to a fuller, joy-filled life through genuine discipleship and community. It is amazing how close a group of people can become after just three days!

Those who make TEC often describe the feeling of family as they form a new community of friends which continues after the initial three-day experience. This intergenerational community is mutually beneficial and enriching to all who participate. There is the opportunity for community members to accompany and mentor those who are beginning to understand what their faith and relationship with Christ means to them. Those being mentored can talk through questions and find support from someone who understands them. Those mentoring can experience the joy of discipleships. The power of a loving community shows that benefits go both ways and has a ripple effect at the parochial and diocesan levels. TEC community members of every age engage more enthusiastically in the life of the parish, and vocations of every sort spring forth as TEC community members experience the encouragement and support of the people of God.

The theological foundation of TEC is more exhaustively explored in the TEC Conference Manual, which is the normative resource for formation and leadership for TEC communities.

Local History

COMING SOON ...

National Roots

In the afterglow of the Second Vatican Council, Fr. Matt Fedewa, a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, designed a retreat experience to focus the essentials of the Catholic faith for older adolescents. As a teacher of a senior class, Fr. Fedewa was well aware of the disenchantment of youth. The initiative for his work was informed, in part, by his experience in adult faith communities like the Cursillo movement. Two insights contributed greatly to Fr. Fedewa’s development of the new Teens Encounter Christ Retreat:

Ministry to youth in America needed to adopt the approach of missionary catechesis, which meant that the Good News should be presented within the context of youth culture.
Many youth have been sacramentalized without having been initiated into the faith. There was a need for young people to experience the core truths of the faith.

The first TEC weekend was held in October 1965 on the campus of the Sisters of Mercy Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan, where Sr. M. Concetta, RSM (now Dorothy Gereke), the administrator of the hospital, hosted and assisted in refining details. In the following years, the movement met with great success in the Lansing Diocese and was shared with many other dioceses. Today 81 TEC programs are active in 60 dioceses, including several outside the United States.

TEC is now being revived in the Sioux Falls Diocese after many years of dormancy, beginning with East River TEC's first weekend to be scheduled in 2026. We hope to generate great enthusiasm for this movement, and grow to offer retreats in several locations throughout the diocese, making it accessible to all. In this way, our goal is to impact all local pastorates of our diocese with a vibrant and active spiritual community.

East River TEC is a non-profit organization operating under the blessing of and full transparency with the Diocese of Sioux Falls. It is guided by a core group of community members who work to maintain this transparent relationship with the Diocese in order to continue fostering this spiritual community, with the ultimate goal of sending our young people back to their pastorate on fire with the faith. East River TEC is currently preparing for the first TEC in the Diocese of Sioux Falls in over 20 years. This and all future TEC retreats will be staffed by a priest, and a trained team of former TEC retreatants.