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| Fr. Dave Timmerman was named a 2014 TEC Heritage Award winner at TEC’s annual Congress in Kansas City, Kan. (Contributed photo) |
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Teens Encounter Christ (TEC) recently named two individuals as 2014 Heritage Award winners at its annual Congress held in Kansas City, Kan.
This year’s winners were Fr. Dave Timmerman, Diocese of Madison, and Jim Colby, Diocese of New Ulm, Minn.
Commitment to the young
The award acknowledges individuals for their exemplary commitment to Catholic young people and is based upon the individual’s significant contribution and commitment to the TEC movement, specific services rendered, and general support offered on the local, regional, and national levels. Since 1986, 61 people have been honored with this distinction.
Father Timmerman, pastor at St. Joseph Parish, Edgerton, and St. Mary Parish, Milton, has organized and led retreats for teenagers since 1986 when he was a deacon at St. John Vianney Parish, Janesville.
TEC holds five retreats annually in several Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States.
The retreats, which help teenagers experience the Paschal mystery of Jesus Christ — Christ dying, Christ rising, Christ going forth — begin on Friday and go through Sunday afternoon.
Retreats are transforming
Father Timmerman called leading these retreats a transformational experience as he observes people encounter Christ and have a change of heart during the weekends.
Since 2009, Father Timmerman has also been involved with TEC on a national level and serves on the organization’s board of spiritual directors.
In naming Father Timmer-man a Heritage Award winner, TEC noted that “he is often found serving as a spiritual director on TEC weekends but has been known to fill other roles as needed. His cheerful, humble personality gives him an enormous sense of community and love, equaled only by his sense of humor and, of course, his devotion to Jesus Christ.
“As a grace-filled servant of the Lord, his peers believe that he has made everyone he comes into contact with a little better in their personal, professional, and spiritual lives,” TEC said.
Father Timmerman, a native of Watertown, attended Holy Name Seminary in Madison and completed his religious training at St. John’s School of Theology-Seminary, Collegeville, Minn.