TEC Talks. Deacon Aaron Expresses Gratitude. Inside this issue

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1 September 2016 Volume 1, Issue 2 Inside this issue Deacon Matt Celebration 2 St. Teresa of Calcutta 3 Important Dates 3 TEC Talks Meet Laurie Benson 4 Mueting Fundraiser 5 TECites of TEC #313 6 Prayer Request 6 TEC #314 6 Deacon Aaron Expresses Gratitude This is one of my favorite times of the year. As the cooler nights start to invade the hot days of summer and the green leaves begin to be painted by God s brush into so many hues of yellow, orange and red, I can t help but anticipate the harvest that God gives His people and the upcoming holidays where family will get together to give thanks. The same anticipation holds true for the upcoming October TEC, the first Girls TEC of the new school year. I look forward to all the gifts that God is going to bring for the presenting and wheat teams to give the candidates an encounter with Christ s love. As we know these weekends depend on a lot of outside volunteer help in the kitchen, as well as setting up and tearing down. It is always gratifying to see all the young men and women return to give back for the candidates. Of course, I also see the joy of being able to see friends again. Some of the friendships are old, some are newly formed on the weekends. While getting together is great, we all must be mindful of what we are here for, the candidates. So when we meet at Believer s Together, all of our actions should be directed towards making the candidates experience all that God has in stored for them. If we are coming to the BTC only to meet friends and not actively help someone in the kitchen or setup or teardown for the weekend or Hoot, it would be best to meet somewhere else so those people who are there to make the candidates experience the best it can be, don t lose focus. For the multitude who do come to give thanks and to help others prepare meals and clean, please know that the community appreciates everything you do and even more importantly know that our God appreciates your dying to self for the rest of His children. Speaking of being thankful, I also want to publicly acknowledge all our assistant spiritual directors, core council, and our Chaplain, Father Peter. I hope they all understand how much I appreciate everything they do for our weekends. These individuals, while not being officially assigned to the TEC program, volunteer their time, treasure, and talent in an effort to demonstrate the Paschal Mystery to the candidates and anyone who comes in contact with them. Recently a group of TEC leaders from the Diocese of Peoria got together and it made me realize how fortunate we are at NW TEC to have the support from all the volunteers that make these weekends possible. I wish I could say that our experience is the same for other TEC communities, but I soon realized we are somewhat unique and extremely grateful. While I understand that the reality is the Holy Spirit leads these weekends, we are truly fortunate that the Spirit has so many faith-filled people to work through. I would also be remiss if I did not mention all the dedication of my predecessor, Deacon Matt Levy. He certainly lived the Paschal Mystery in all that he gave to the program. Turn to Page 2

2 Thanks Given to Deacon Matt for Service to TEC From Page 1 We recently had an opportunity to thank him for his many years of service. It felt so right to recognize his fingerprints on our program. While he deserved to retire as spiritual director, he has been greatly missed and we are hopeful that he may be open to filling a weekend role from time to time and continue to share his wealth of knowledge with future candidates. God Bless, be thankful, and enjoy the beauty of Autumn. 2 Photos By Robin Heiar

3 St. Teresa of Calcutta Canonized Sept. 4th VATICAN CITY (CNS) With a large tapestry bearing the portrait of the woman known as the Saint of the Gutters suspended above him, Pope Francis proclaimed the sainthood of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, hailing her courage and love for the poor. Despite the formality of the occasion though, her sanctity is so close to us, so tender and fruitful, that spontaneously we will continue to call her Mother Teresa, Pope Francis said to applause at the canonization Mass Sept. 4. Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defense of human life, those unborn and those abandoned and discarded, the pope said in his homily during the Mass in St. Peter s Square. Born in 1910 to an ethnic Albanian family in Skopje, in what is now part of Macedonia, Mother Teresa went to India in 1929 as a Sister of Loreto and became an Indian citizen in She founded the Missionaries of Charity in In his homily, Pope Francis said God s will is explained in the words of the prophets: I want mercy, not sacrifice. God is pleased by every act of mercy because in the brother or sister that we assist, we recognize the face of God which no one can see, he said. Each time we bend down to the needs of our brothers and sisters, we give Jesus something to eat and drink; we clothe, we help and we visit the Son of God. Like Mother Teresa, he said, Christians are called not simply to perform acts of charity, but to live charity as a vocation and to grow each day in love. Wherever someone is reaching out, asking for a helping hand in order to get up, this is where our presence -- and the presence of the church which sustains and offers hope -- must be, the pope said. Mother Teresa, he said, lived out this vocation to charity through her commitment to defending the unborn and bowing down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road. Important Dates She also made her voice heard before the powers of this world so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime of poverty they created, Pope Francis said. For Mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavor to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering. Mother Teresa s simplicity did not keep the powerful away from the Mass, though. Some 20 nations sent official delegations to the Vatican for the canonization. Mother Teresa died on Sept. 5, 1997, which will also be her Feast Day each year. She is the patron saint of World Youth Day and doubters. - Reprinted from Catholic News Service If you have items you would like to have placed in the newsletter or suggestions you would like to see in the newsletter or on the website, please send an to Kimberly Souba at: northwest.tec-newsletter@gmail.com. Sept. 22, 7 p.m. TEC #315 Team Selection Sept. 24, 8 a.m. SCT Meeting Oct. 8-10, TEC #314 Oct , 5:30 p.m. SCT Meeting Oct. 17, 7 p.m. Core Council Meeting Oct. 23, First Team Meeting TEC #315 Oct. 29, Mueting Fundraiser 3-8:00 PM Nov. 1, All Saints Day Nov. 5, 8 a.m. SCT Meeting Nov. 17, 7 p.m. TEC #316 Team Selection 3

4 Meet ASD, Laurie Benson A feature that will make its way to the TEC newsletter, TEC Talks, will be to interview one of the Assistant Spiritual Directors and introduce them to the greater TEC Family. Let us meet Laurie Benson. Q: What parish do you belong to? A: Jeff and I are currently attending St. Pat s in Andalusia. Q: Tell us about your family? Are they also involved in TEC? A: Jeff and I are both involved in TEC. We have two children, Chelsea (26) and Tanner (24), and a son-in-law, Tyler. Both Chelsea and Tanner made TEC as teens. Tyler wants to attend as an adult observer as soon as his schedule allows. Chelsea was the first of two girls from Aledo High School to attend. Tanner attended with a group of 10+ friends. They were part of the kick start to getting Mercer County teens involved. Q: How long have you been involved in TEC? A: 6 years Q: When was your first TEC weekend? A: TEC #270, January 16-18, 2010 Q: Why did you decide to get involved in TEC? A: My husband, Jeff, had attended a weekend and wanted me to experience it. Q: In what capacity/capacities have you been involved? A: Two different meditations with Jeff; Assistant; Lay Leader; Assistant Spiritual Director Q: How would you describe the TEC Program? A: The TEC Program provides teenagers, and adults, an opportunity to spend three days in the presence of Christ away from the daily chaos. TEC provides a safe place where struggles are shared, hearts are opened, new friends are made, wisdom is gained, sins are forgiven, faith is found and the best part Jesus is right there in the middle of it all! His presence is 4 felt the minute you walk through the doors! (You also get to eat calorie-free food all weekend well, that s what I ve always been told!) Q: What are some of the biggest changes you ve seen in the TEC Program at Northwest since you first became involved? A: I would say the program is constantly evolving...new technologies, new challenges for today s teens, new teen leadership as they go off to college. I feel the Northwest TEC Program has embraced all of these and has been proactive in addressing any challenge or opportunity that has come along. Q: Why do you stay involved? A: TEC recharges you! The weekends can be exhausting for someone who is 50-something, but the amazing people involved in the TEC program teens and adults offer unconditional love, compassion, genuineness and encouragement. They are all Christ with skin on and we change each other s lives. We walk with each other through this thing called life lifting each other up keeping our hearts and minds fixed on Jesus. Q: What do you enjoy most about being involved in TEC? A: The people. Young, old and everyone in between! Awesome, awesome, faith-filled people! Q: How has being involved in the TEC Program deepened your faith and spirituality? A: In order to teach you must know your subject, so I continue to learn and grow by being in His Word and by learning more about the Catholic faith. In TEC, I have been blessed to be surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses such as Ms. Jean Edmunds, Bob Pettit and Frank DeVooght, among MANY more awesome teachers. The young adults of TEC also inspire me to be a better Christian. Their selfless acts of Wheat and courage to stand up for their faith, compels me to do the same. Q: What would you say to another adult who was thinking of getting involved in the Program? A: Go for it! TEC is an incredible gift. Besides receiving the gift of a deeper relationship with Christ, you receive the gift of an amazing faith community. It is truly a family not one to replace the one you have at home, but one that you know is always there praying for and loving you through the good and bad times. One of the biggest reasons to get involved, however, is because our young adults NEED us. They need to know they are loved and not alone; it s tough out there. TEC provides a peace to these young adults that is hard to find anywhere else. And TEC works because Jesus is the designer of it. Q: What do you like to do in your free time? A: Read. Take short day trips. Spend time with the kids. Q: What is your favorite Bible verse? A: Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Q: Is there anything else you would like to add? A: Thank you to everyone who makes TEC work! We plant the seeds and if we re lucky, we get to see the abundant harvest. But even when we don t, we know that Christ will continue what was started in their hearts and pursue them so they will understand what is right and just and fair every good path. For wisdom will enter their heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to their soul. Proverbs 2:9-10

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6 Welcome TEC #313 TECites Welcome to the family TEC #313: Ethan Blevins, Alex DeWitt, Keenan Dolan, Chase Faas, Matthew Ganson, Josh Harry, Anthony Jacobs, Parker Lough, Daniel Mount, James Naert, Eric Raya, and Tristan Wamsley. Prayer Requests TEC #314 Oct. 8-10, 2016 Kathy Kaschke and her team will welcome the Candidates of TEC #314 October 8-10, 2016 at the Believers Together Center. Ask your friends and family to consider a special encounter with Christ and help them fill out those applications online ASAP! Team members of TEC #313 are: Leader Kathy Kaschke; Spiritual Director Deacon Aaron Hoste & Father Peter Zorjan; Asst. Spiritual Director Denise Maynard; Asst. Leaders Kate Mapes, Robin Heiar, & Katherine Zerull; Growth & Ideals Rebecca Nonnenmann; Change of Heart Amanda Burrill; Pascal Mystery Denise Maynard; God Experience Kathy Kaschke; Metanoia Father Peter; Beyond TEC Erica Lopez; Discipleship Kasey Zibton; God: A Community of Love Jeanne & Phil Moran; Christian Life Shelby Link; Church: People of God Laura Bowers; Signs Rose Schultz; Young Christian as Disciple Jessica Tucker; Minstrel Maddie Power; Teen Leaders Aubrey Reed, Abbey Ciasto, & Natali Gomez; Adult Leaders Jenni Wyffels, Heidi Bernhardt, & Melissa Davila. For the Pope and all leaders within the church that they will continue to be faithful witnesses to all. For our world leaders, especially here in the United States, that they will follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and lead in the way of Truth. TEC #314 and all those who will experience the Paschal Mystery on a deeper level. For all those who have died or are in the dying process, that they will feel the love of Christ and be open to His graces. Eternal rest grant unto them oh Lord and let perpetual light sign upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. Remember if you have a prayer request, please submit it online at: and click on the cross at the bottom of the page.