About St. James Major · Lake Pleasant, New York
St. James Major is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the southern Adirondack communities of Lake Pleasant, Speculator, Piseco, and Morehouse in Hamilton County, New York. Originally built in 1925 as a mission church and incorporated as a standalone parish of the Diocese of Ogdensburg on January 1, 1959, it is today linked with nearby St. Ann's Church in Wells under a single pastor. The parish is staffed by Reverend James V. Teti and Deacon Francis E. Sczerzenie, with worship centered on weekend and weekday Masses, the sacraments, and the seasonal rhythm of summer visitors to the Sacandaga Lake region.
- Established
- 1925
- Patron
- St. James the Greater (the Apostle James the Great, called 'Major')
- Rector
- Reverend James V. Teti
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg
Why belong here
St. James Major is the Catholic home for a wide, sparsely populated stretch of the southern Adirondacks, drawing together year-round residents of Lake Pleasant, Speculator, Piseco, and Morehouse with the many seasonal Catholics who summer on Sacandaga Lake. As a parish approaching its centennial, it offers the full rhythm of Catholic life — weekend and weekday Mass, the sacrament of confession before Mass, baptism, marriage, and anointing of the sick — supported by an engaged Parish Council, an Altar Society, and a cemetery ministry. Worship here is small, rooted in the Adirondack landscape, and warmly welcoming to both locals and visitors to the region.
Mass times at St. James Major
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before weekend Masses
- By request
Parish Identity & Patron
St. James Major takes its name from St. James the Greater, the Apostle whose feast the universal Church celebrates on July 25. The 'Major' (Greater) distinguishes him from St. James the Less, and marks this small Adirondack parish as the spiritual home of Catholics across Lake Pleasant, Speculator, Piseco and Morehouse.
- Patron: St. James the Greater (the Apostle)
- Feast day: July 25
- Parish community includes Lake Pleasant, Speculator, Piseco and Morehouse
A Hundred Years of Catholic Life in Hamilton County
Catholic faith in the southern Adirondacks long predates St. James Major itself. Visiting priests said Mass in homes and taverns from the 1880s, and in 1911 Bishop Henry Gabriels invited the Franciscan Friars (OFMC) of the Immaculate Conception Province in Rensselaer to take pastoral care of the scattered faithful. The parish was built in 1925 on land donated by Margaret Call, served as a mission of Northville (1924–1926) and then of Wells (1927–1958), and was formally incorporated as a new parish of the Diocese of Ogdensburg on January 1, 1959.
- 1844: First Catholic church in the Great South Woods built in Morehouse by French settlers
- 1911: Franciscans (OFMC) invited by Bishop Gabriels
- 1925: Construction begins under Father Adelbert Debelt, OFMC
- 1929: Camp in Speculator donated and converted into the rectory
- 1959: Incorporated as a new parish under Bishop James J. Navagh; Father Anthony Billy appointed first pastor
- 1975: Golden Jubilee celebrated with Bishop Stanislaus Brzana
- 2025: 100th anniversary celebrated with Bishop Terry R. LaValley
The Church Building & 1991 Renovation
The church sits on State Route 8 adjacent to the Lake Pleasant Golf Course. In 1983, the parish exchanged land with the golf course so that the church could expand and a proper Route 8 parking area could be built for worshipers. The major renovation and expansion of 1991, under Father Ralph White, OFMC, was done to accommodate the large number of Catholics visiting the area in summer — and was carried out mostly through volunteer labor by parishioners and non-Catholic neighbors.
- 1983 land swap with Lake Pleasant Golf Course
- 1991 expansion under Father Ralph White, OFMC
- Volunteer labor by parishioners and non-Catholic neighbors
Clergy, Staff & Parish Leadership
St. James Major is pastored jointly with nearby St. Ann's Church in Wells. Current pastor Reverend James V. Teti, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark ordained May 24, 1997, was appointed effective July 2, 2025, and is serving in the Diocese of Ogdensburg until 2028. He is assisted by Deacon Francis E. Sczerzenie. The parish also benefits from a Financial Secretary, a Parish Secretary, and a board of Trustees.
- Pastor: Reverend James V. Teti (effective July 2, 2025)
- Deacon: Francis E. Sczerzenie
- Trustees (St. James Major)
- Financial Secretary (St. James Major)
- Parish Secretary (St. James Major)
Parish Council, Altar Society & Ministries
The St. James Major Parish Council was formed in 1974 under Fran Gramlich, and its very first effort was the planning of the parish's Golden Jubilee in 1975. Today the parish continues to depend on a small core of lay ministries — an Altar Society, Trustees, Financial and Parish Secretaries, and a Cemetery ministry — supported by a weekly parish bulletin.
- Parish Council (founded 1974)
- Altar Society
- Trustees
- Financial Secretary
- Parish Secretary
- Cemetery ministry
- Weekly parish bulletin
Cemetery
The parish maintains a cemetery adjacent to the church site on the western edge of the Town of Morehouse, south of Route 8 — a continuation of more than a century of Catholic burial tradition in this part of Hamilton County that began with the very first Catholic church built by French settlers in 1844.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Adelbert Debelt, OFMC1925 (construction)
Pastor of St. Ann's, Wells; supervised the building of St. James Major and began its mission ministry.
- Father Anthony Billy1959
First pastor upon incorporation of St. James Major as a new parish of the Diocese of Ogdensburg on January 1, 1959.
- Father Jude Schmieder
Pastor at the time of the 1975 Golden Jubilee; concelebrated the Sacred Heart Mass with Bishop Stanislaus Brzana.
- Father Rock Hoffman
Former pastor who concelebrated the 1975 Golden Jubilee Mass.
- Father Ralph White, OFMC1991 (renovation)
Directed the 1991 renovation and expansion of the church with volunteer labor.
- Father Sony G. Pulickaluntil July 2, 2025
Preceding pastor of St. James Major and St. Ann's, Wells; reassigned to the Catholic Community of St. Peter and St. Mary and St. Hedwig in Lowville.
- Father James V. Tetieffective July 2, 2025
Current pastor; a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark ordained May 24, 1997, serving in the Diocese of Ogdensburg until 2028.