MID AMERICA TEC
March 2001
TEENS ENCOUNTER CHRIST

03/2001 Volume 23 No. 3 1206 E. McCarty St., Jefferson City, MO 65101 573-635-5717
Newsletter email:www.midamericatec.com

FRIDAY NIGHT SHARED PRAYER FOR TEC #178

All TECites are invited to pray with the Team beginning at 7:30 PM sharp, March 16, St. Stanislaus, Wardsville, MO

Weekend Director: Lee Menz
Spiritual Director: Fr. Mike Coleman
Assistant Director: Linda Sommers
Asst. Spiritual Director: Rev. Mr. Dan Ramsay

WHEAT LETTERS:
Mail Your Letters To
St. Stanislaus Parish
Attn: Wheat Letter
6410 Route W
Jefferson City, MO 65101

REUNION March 18, 2001
3:30 PM Candidate's Parents' Meeting
4:00 PM Gathering Time
4:15 PM Liturgy NEW TIME !!!
6:00 PM Hoot, Shared Prayer

TEC WEEKENDS FOR 2001 & 2002
#179 - Jun 9-11, 2001 Sedalia
#180 - Jul 28-30, 2001 Hannibal
#181 - Nov 10-12, 2001 Boonville
#182 - Jan 12-14, 2002 IC, Jeff City
#183 - Mar 16-18, 2002 Marshall
#184 - Jun 8-10, 2002 Moberly
#185 - Jul 27-29, 2002 Hannibal
#186 - Nov 9-11, 2002 Taos

HOOT MASS CONTRIBUTIONS FOR 2001
January Jeff City $368.55

REQUESTS TO SERVE ON TEC

Gena Schneider, Jim Haaf, Jessica Haslag, Jony Haslag, Kim Boessen, Dan Kertz, Amy Dean, Dan Whitney, Brad Crull, Jenny Armstrong. Now is the time to send in your RTV for the summer TECs. Directors will begin forming team very soon!

Note the new time for Mass on Sunday. Bring a sandwich or a snack to "picnic" on between Mass and the hoot.
June Wheat Letters
Sacred Heart Parish
ATTN: Wheat Letter
421 W Third St.
Sedalia, MO 65301

Highlights of the last TEC Council meeting...
Arnold Brucks reported for TEC 177. Wheat team would have liked to had more specific directions outlined for being able to enter conf room to leave items on the table. Time crunch for table sharing & chapel visits. Stations worked well as a pilgrimage from one part of bldg to chapel. Hoot went well, encourage more involvement from parents and TEC community….A new Mary statue is being purchased from Divinity store in Jeff City as well as two boxes of the "saint cards"… Recruitment team may begin focusing on the Sedalia area to recruit for June's TEC…Carolyn Koenigsfeld will be quilting on the quilt Mary Plassmeyer pieced for the the TEC Convention auction, quilting party on January 27th…There will be a Spiritual Directors workshop in Omaha this summer. Our TEC community will notify the priests of the diocese and offer to pay a portion of the workshop fee for any priest or deacon wishing to attend… it was the consensus of the Council to make our 10% tithe from our hoot collections in year 2000 to Covenant House…Spirit of TEC nominees were made for the convention awards…NEXT TEC COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE FRIDAY, Mar 23rd, 7:15 pm in the meeting room at I. C. Rectory, Jeff City. All TECites are encouraged to attend these meetings. The Core Council needs your input and observations to assist in the decision-making for the future of Mid America TEC. This is where the action is! Be a part of the future of TEC!
Our new core council members are:
Sharon Dey
David Grothoff
Ted & Mary Lou Hoyt
Lisa Sander
Paula Sanning
Linda Sommers
Pam Whitney
Lee Menz is retained as our center's Lay Director.

Requests to Serve are available on our website, calling the TEC office, BE SURE your sheet and the reference sheet BOTH are received in the TEC office ASAP. The June Director will need to have a team together by May 1st!

MAIL YOUR TEC #178 WHEAT LETTER TODAY!!
Remember to write a general letter to the whole weekend before the personal ones!
Begin your wheat now!

From the Director of TEC 177

Dear TEC 177,

Sometimes I have so much trouble finding an idea or just some thought to inspire me to write something special to those I have worked with on TEC. It has always amazed me though when thoughts seem so far away something or someone says or does something that just brings it all together.

I was sitting in front of my computer reading some old email messages Bret Sander sent back in November. It talked about how poor Brandon was trying to make a special breakfast for his parents. The harder he tried, the bigger the mess. Pancake mix mixed with eggs and milk all over the floor seemed a very big hurdle for Brandon to get over before his parents found the mess. The harder he tried, the bigger the mess became until Brandon looked up and saw his dad standing in the doorway. Fear began setting in for he knew punishment was on the way. But just as Jesus did for all of us, his dad crawled down into the mess with Brandon and assured him all would be better. I am sitting here writing these words, I'm dog sitting for my mom's new little pet dog, Simon. Simon seems to keep making bigger messes all the time. Tugging at the drawstring in my sweatpants, just wanting my attention. I hope we will all take the same kind of excitement as Simon to get God's attention in our lives.

The more TEC's I work on, it seems the more special people I meet. I am glad love is a never endless virtue, for the more people I meet, the more I want to give my love to. From the deepest part of my heart, I want to thank each and everyone of TEC 177 for sharing and helping me grow closer to my God during the weekend. There are so many ways each and every person inspired me to be a better and loving person. Remember to never quit trying to make pancakes, for God will always help us with the mess.

Love always, Arnold Brucks
2001 National TEC Convention

May 31 - June 3, 2001, Univ of Southern Indiana

CHECK OUT THE CONVENTION WEBSITE FOR ALL THE LATEST INFORMATION!

The MA TEC Council pledged $1000 of our funds toward scholarships for the convention. The cost of the convention is $160. MA TEC will reimburse all attendees up to $50 after the convention. We will be working out a car pool, so think about going … this is for TECites of all ages!

HAVE A SAFE SPRING BREAK!

T.E.C. IS IN NEED

At the last TEC Council meeting, some immediate and long range needs were discussed. We are looking for either cash donations or donations of specific items. A list of the items discussed were:
- new burlap
- **new banners
- new or different sound system for the conference room (have a line on one now)
- remote-operated boombox or shelf system compatible with amp for conference room
- replacing one of the hoot mics
- cash for TEC convention quilt donation
- miscellaneous sacramental supplies (charcoal, incense)
- possible purchase of a reconditioned photocopier for the TEC office (presently use Kinkos which is expensive!) Estimated purchase cost of $1600.00

If you would like to make a cash donation or know someone who would be like to (parents, former TECites in your parishes, Knights of Columbus councils, etc.) simply send it to the TEC office. All donations will be acknowledged.
If you are interested in directly donating any of the above items, contact Lee Menz or Paula Sanning.

**In regards to the banners, you could take one of ours that is currently falling apart and use it as a pattern to make a new one. If your parish has banners they would like to have recycled which fit our themes of "Die, Rise, Go", we would be happy to adopt them.

THANKS to Pam Whitney for donating some burlap.
Reminder: now is the time to fill out a request to serve for the summer TEC's. The June Director will need to have a team formed by May 1st so to get in three team meetings. adults as well as young adults need to fill out a request to serve … it saves time in team formation if we know who is available. we can't read your mind! Fill one out and let the spirit take care of the rest!