By JENNIFER PFANNENSTIEL

Special to The Hays Daily News

The 3 p.m. Mass today will signify a historic change for the nearly 1,600 families at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Parish -- the dedication of a brand new place of worship.

But for one family in particular, that change is purely a physical one.

Curtis and Annette Hammeke and their three children; Andy, 20, Alicia, 18, and Nick, 16, have been members of IHM Parish for nearly 11 years. During those years, each member of the family has contributed his or her time and talents to the church in a variety of ways.

Curtis, athletic director at Fort Hays State University, serves as an adult Catholic Youth Organization sponsor, a Eucharistic minister and a minister of communion to the homebound.

Annette serves in the parish office as the religious formation director for kindergarten through eighth grade students, a position she has held since 2005.

She is responsible for the development of the faith-formation classes, held three Wednesdays a month, for these students and their families. She is also a Eucharistic minister during Mass and an adult sponsor for CYO.

Andy and Alicia, both students at Fort Hays State University, were extensively involved in CYO activities during their high school years.

Nick, a sophomore at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School, is active in the CYO and is an altar server.

Nick will be playing drums with the music ministry today during the dedication Mass.

Mass at IHM helps to unite the Hammeke family.

"Since Andy and I have moved out, when we all go to mass together, we try to spend the majority of the day together too, or as much as we can," Alicia said.

This busy family has high hopes for the new church building and what it can offer the community.

The capacity of the new building is around 1,000 people, which exceeds the former worship space capacity of 600.

"An advantage of a larger capacity is to have more of the congregation together at the same time," Curtis said, expressing his hopes that the parishioners will take this opportunity to get to each other better at masses.

Annette's expectations of the larger facility are centered on the parish youth.

"I wholeheartedly look forward to the amount of space that will be available for our sacraments that we have for the children: First Communion and Confirmation," she said. "We'll have the ability to seat many ... to watch the children receive the sacraments and to renew ourselves as we watch."

The Hammekes agree that the new building's construction has been nicely done. A large round stained-glass window on the east wall of the church faces Vine Street. A series of tall windows on the north and south walls will have stained glass installed before Easter.

"It just feels so very warm and inviting," Annette said.

For this family, though, all of these aspects of the new building are just additional adornment on well-established faith.

"It's still the house of God for us," Curtis said. "We will be involved in the same activities hopefully, and I don't think it'll change the way we're involved with the parish."

"Mass will still have the same meaning as it always has and always will," Alicia added, "no matter where it is held."

Jennifer Pfannenstiel, Hays, is a senior at Fort Hays State University, majoring in biology/secondary education.