A year after announcing a capital campaign for a major renovation to the parish grounds, Immaculate Conception Church in Columbia hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday, marking the start of a project that will have parishioners nourishing their bodies, minds and spirits.

The capital campaign was first announced last summer as a pamphlet was shared with parishioners discussing a major construction project at the church and school complex at 409 and 411 Palmer Road.

As was explained by Fr. Steve Thoma and then-Immaculate Conception School Principal David Gregson at the time, the project is all about “continuing the dream” for the parish, completing the third phase of renovations that had always been planned.

The prior two phases, respectively, were the construction of the new church and adjoining grade school.

This third phase includes establishment of a prayer walk, two turf athletic fields – with a nearby parking lot – and a pavilion area between the fields and main building.

The groundbreaking ceremony had many parishioners gather after Sunday morning Mass to join in prayer as Thoma and former Immaculate Conception pastor Fr. Carl Scherrer led a blessing for the grounds.

Following the ceremony, Immaculate Conception trustee John Whitworth and his fellow parishioner Adam Randle, both of whom have been closely involved with parish projects for 20 years, spoke with the Republic-Times to discuss this newest renovation.

Whitworth noted his involvement as he works for a construction company which is serving as something of a construction manager or consultant for the project.

He echoed some of the sentiments expressed back when the capital campaign got underway, saying the phase three expansion is intended to see the original vision for the parish be fully realized.

“Having been involved with every one of these committees over the last 20 years, it’s exciting to see,” Whitworth said. “This is kind of like the last phase of what the original vision for the parish was… These last three elements of phase three really help complete what the original vision was and provide something for everyone in the parish, from young to old.”

Both Whitworth and Randle also spoke more on what the additions to the parish grounds are meant to be.

To begin with, Randle mentioned the sign that now sits at the roundabout intersection of Palmer Creek Drive and Quarry.

This digital sign was originally part of the project and was graciously donated to the effort, with the landscaping soon to be finished.

“We are really excited about the fact that our sign outside was donated by an anonymous donor,” Randle said. “It allowed us to go ahead and purchase the sign and have it installed in advance of the beginning of the rest of the portions of the project.”

The prayer walk will be set up at the north end of the grounds near the main church parking lot, and it will also be ADA compliant.

Whitworth described it as a meandering path meant to evoke a Rosary. The path is intended for folks praying the Rosary and will also feature the Stations of the Cross along with some benches and other small features that might be added at a later date.

“I’m also very excited about the Rosary Walk,” Randle said. “It will give us the really faith-centered portion of this project, to allow people to pray and reflect and have an outdoor space that will eventually have the Stations of the Cross, other memorials. Hopefully at some point we’ll have benches, landscaping and things so it will be a really unique thing that a lot of churches are not able to construct because they don’t have the land adjacent to their property.”

The largest addition of phase three is the turf athletic fields down the hill to the southeast, one of which is a full soccer field with space for a track to be set up around it, and the other is marked up to serve as a baseball diamond while also being marked for two full-size soccer fields or four smaller soccer fields, altogether providing for tournament or practice accommodations.

The large soccer field is also set to be named after Zac Epplin, an ICS graduate who was diagnosed with cancer his senior year at Gibault Catholic High School and passed away shortly after graduating.

Right beside the fields will be the pavilion, providing both a general covered space for outdoor activities along with a restroom and concession stand.

“It will be able to accommodate foot traffic and people that are there for sporting events, to use for the picnic and other outdoor activities that the parish hosts and then also it will be available for parishioners to potentially reserve and use for family or other gatherings,” Randle said. “We’ve long needed an outdoor restroom facility and additional covered area.”

When it comes to actual progress toward phase three, Todd Burns, who has served as chairperson for the capital campaign, said the overall goal is $4.5 million, and the parish has already been able to collect $4.2 million.

Concerning construction, Randle explained the sign is essentially finished, and the turf fields will likely be focused on next.

The pavilion will likely be constructed late this year or early next year, and the prayer walk is expected to be the last component completed sometime next year.

Along with speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Thoma also spoke with the Republic-Times to reiterate some of his sentiments, saying that, along with the church and school, the outdoor additions will help parishioners live the Catholic lifestyle of taking care of their mind, body and spirit.

He also emphasized that this project has been a goal for the parish from the beginning.

“We’re just moving forward with the dreams that have been in place for the last 25 years,” Thoma said. “It’s not like this is something brand new. The dream has been in place for a long time.”