Hammeke celebrates Easter Mass
Father Andy Hammeke celebrated his first Christmas as a local pastor. Now this weekend, he is celebrating his first Easter. Hammeke, who was ordained in 2018, became pastor at Comeau Catholic Campus Center in July. He previously was an associate pastor in Salina, but he now is the lone pastor at the Comeau Catholic Campus Center in Hays, where he spent much of his childhood. “As a kid, you’re looking at the Easter celebration,” Hammeke said earlier this week. “Now it’s completely flipped to where not only am I looking forward to the celebration of Easter, I’m leading it. “This is going to be the first time doing all of this by myself,” he added. “I had my first Christmas, my first Palm Sunday.” Hammeke said both Fort Hays State University students and community members provide assistance. One of the things he has had to learn as a sole pastor is administrative tasks, everything from paying bills to building upkeep. But that doesn’t distract from his main mission, a path that started as a gradual journey to where he is now. As a kid, Hammeke wanted to either play professional baseball or be a drummer. He loved both. But the right-hander hurt his arm his senior year at Thomas More Prep-Marian and he had Tommy John surgery. Hammeke received a baseball scholarship at FHSU, but he never could get back to where he was before the injury. Hammeke’s love of music comes from his family. His dad, Curtis, is one of nine siblings. Of the six boys, all but Curtis are musically inclined, playing either the guitar or the drums. “I grew up at family reunions watching my uncles and cousins playing music,” Hammeke said. “Every reunion we would have live music. “From the time I was little I was hitting pots and pans,” he added. “So was my brother (Nick). He’s a great drummer.” Hammeke joined band in fourth grade and in eighth grade his parents gave him a drum set, which he still has. He played in high school and in college Hammeke was part of a band called “Syndication.” He laughed that the more they played the fewer the crowds. Hammeke sat in with the TMP band at last month’s state basketball tournament in Hutchinson, playing the drums. As the school’s chaplain, it is a way to connect with the students.
