Special to the Message, It All Started at TEC
Editor’s Note: Members of the Teens Encounter Christ leadership team will periodically provide articles to The Message to share some of the impactful stories of how TEC has made a difference in lives across the Diocese of Evansville.
Meet Hannah Seifert. She grew up in a wonderful Catholic family with so many great opportunities to grow in her faith including many retreat experiences before she made her first TEC weekend in November 2022, but she notes that TEC still made a significant and powerful impact on her life because she encountered Christ in new and amazing ways, and her Catholic faith was set on fire more intensely than ever before and that fire continues to burn. She says, “I owe so much of my youth and young adult faith formation to TEC.”
After that first TEC weekend, Hannah has stayed involved in the TEC community by working a couple TEC weekends and attending other TEC community gatherings. She says, “I love every TEC event that I go to because I get to see so many familiar and friendly faces!” She also loves working TEC weekends because it gives her the opportunity to serve others in a profound way. “Being able to act as the hands and feet of Christ to personally reflect his love to others is such a powerful experience.” Hannah also enjoys spending time with her TEC friends outside of TEC functions and notes that she met some of her closest lifelong friends at TEC.
Hannah is now a sophomore at the University of Southern Indiana studying elementary education and vocal music. At USI, she serves as the vice president of Students for Life and president of the Eagle Catholic Newman group, where she leads a women’s Bible Study and small-group formation. In addition, she works as a part-time kindergarten assistant at St. Philip Catholic School in Posey County, which is her home parish.
Hannah says, “TEC continues to impact my life through my connections with others. Having experienced TEC has helped me to interact with people who share the same TEC experience and to share that experience with others.” Hannah also feels that TEC has taught her to reflect on her day or week in terms of the Gospel and the life, death and Resurrection of Christ. It has also helped her unite her walk with him and think deeper about how she is living her life.
Hannah says, “I would definitely encourage others to make a TEC! TEC is a wonderful way to get out of your comfort zone and dive deeper into relationship with Christ and others. It is amazing for not only teens, but all people because there is a message for anyone in any walk of life.”
The next two TEC weekends are Feb. 14-16 and July 18-20, but those interested in making a TEC weekend are encouraged to apply early for a better chance of getting invited to the weekend that works best in their schedule. Applying to make a weekend is not the same as committing to be at a specific weekend. Several weeks before each retreat, applicants receive phone calls to ask whether they would be able to commit to the upcoming weekend and to answer any remaining questions or concerns applicants might have.
For more information about Teens Encounter Christ, to apply to make a weekend retreat or to donate to the TEC Endowment, please visit www.switec.org.