About St. James · Wetmore, Kansas
St. James Catholic Church is a small rural parish in Wetmore, Kansas, in the northern tier of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. Founded in the 1870s and now served alongside Sacred Heart in Sabetha and St. Augustine in Fidelity by a single pastor, St. James is the spiritual home of farming families and small-town Catholics in the Wetmore vicinity. The parish is rooted in nineteenth-century missionary work, grew around a frame church and a one-room Catholic school, and today worships in a new 50'x90' church built in 2009 after Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann blessed the ground on September 5, 2009.
- Established
- 1874
- Patron
- St. James
- Rector
- Father Jaime Zarse
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas
Why belong here
St. James is a tight-knit rural Catholic community where, as its pastor has said, 'everybody knows your name.' It offers weekly Saturday evening Mass, midweek Mass during the school year, monthly 12-hour Eucharistic Adoration, a robust rotation of lay liturgical ministries (altar servers, lectors, sacristans, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, music, art & environment, hospitality), adult faith formation and small groups through the parish cluster, and an annual parish auction that has funded capital improvements like a church-to-hall breezeway and religious education classrooms. For anyone in the Wetmore area seeking the Bread of Life in a parish where faith, family, and farming all meet, St. James welcomes you.
Mass times at St. James
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:45 PM – 6:15 PM
Adoration times
- Saturday 5:45 PM (preceding the vigil Mass)
- 12-Hour Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the 1st Saturday of each month
History of St. James Parish
Missionary Catholic work in the Wetmore vicinity dates to the early 1860s, with the first Masses offered in private homes. The recorded property history begins in 1877, when attorney Simon Conwell of Seneca purchased Block 9 lots 6 and 7 in Wetmore and conveyed them to Bishop Louis M. Fink of the Diocese of Kansas (resident in Leavenworth). That same year Mr. Everson Whited built a frame church and Father John Begley of Effingham organized the parish. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas dates the parish's foundation to 1874.
- 1877 — Lots purchased by Simon Conwell and deeded to Bishop Louis M. Fink
- 1877 — Frame church built by Mr. Everson Whited
- Until 1888 — Mission attached to Fidelity
- 1889–1910 — Mission served from Effingham
- March 1938 — Fr. Angelus Lingenfelser, OSB, becomes first resident pastor (serves until 1948)
The Parish School Years
Before being recalled to Atchison, Father Angelus Lingenfelser launched a parish Catholic school in a one-room schoolhouse staffed by religious sisters. Enrollment outgrew the frame building, and a two-room brick school was constructed in 1960. The school operated until 1969, when the Archdiocese consolidated its two-sister schools and St. James lost its teaching sisters. The brick school building was then remodeled and converted into the parish's church, where it served as St. James' worship home for the next forty years.
- One-room schoolhouse (mid-20th c.) — first St. James Catholic School
- 1960 — New two-room brick school built
- 1969 — Catholic school closes; brick building converted to a church
Building the Present Church (2009)
By the late 2000s, maintenance and space issues led parishioners to form a building committee in October 2008. Archdiocesan remodeling and new-construction plans proved too expensive, so the committee worked with a local lumber company on a basic 50'x90' design that the parish could afford. After consulting with Leon Roberts of the Archdiocese, a capital campaign was approved. Parishioners gathered on September 5, 2009, as Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann blessed the ground for the new church. The building was completed through fundraisers and significant in-kind work from parishioners and surrounding communities. Father Kent O'Connor and Father Balachandra R. Miriyala were thanked by the parish for helping get the project off the ground and seeing it through to completion.
- October 2008 — Building committee formed
- Local lumber company 50'x90' plan adopted for affordability
- September 5, 2009 — Ground blessed by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann
- Construction completed and parish moved to the new church (2009–2010)
Liturgical Life and Ministries
Liturgical ministry at St. James flows from baptism, and the parish shares a robust set of lay roles with its sister parishes in the NE Kansas Catholics cluster. The St. James Music Director is Ellie Haverkamp. St. James also takes its turn in the wider parish cluster's weekly schedule and 12-hour monthly Eucharistic Adoration rotation.
- Altar Servers
- Sacristans
- Lectors
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
- Musicians / Choir — Music Director: Ellie Haverkamp (785-364-7647)
- Arts & Environment Ministers
- Hospitality Ministers
Sacraments and Devotions
Weekly Mass, confession before the vigil Mass, and periodic all-day adoration form the devotional rhythm of St. James. The 12-Hour Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the 1st Saturday of each month is a particular devotion of the parish.
- Saturday vigil Mass at 6:30 PM in English
- Wednesday Masses during the school year (8:00 AM on 2nd, 4th, 5th Wednesdays; 7:00 PM on 1st & 3rd Wednesdays)
- Confession Saturdays 5:45–6:15 PM
- 1st Saturday of each month — 12-Hour Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Parish Community Life and Outreach
St. James is part of the NE Kansas Catholics parish family, which includes Sacred Heart in Sabetha and St. Augustine in Fidelity under one pastor. The cluster has been recognized as an 'Amazing Parish' — a movement that gives busy pastors coaching to form effective leadership teams and improve parish organizational health — and was featured by Archbishop Naumann in an interview with Fr. Jaime Zarse and leadership team members Annie Deters, Greta Heiman, and Gina Sallman.
- Annual parish picnic and large consignment auction (proceeds have funded a church-to-hall breezeway and additional religious education classrooms)
- Small-group ministries across the cluster — men's, women's, couples, and book clubs
- Adult Faith Formation and Spiritual Direction through the parish cluster
Clergy and Pastoral Care
Since September 2018 the parish has been served as part of a triad with Sacred Heart in Sabetha and St. Augustine in Fidelity. Father Jaime Zarse was installed as pastor by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann at the 10:30 AM Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Sabetha on September 9, 2018 — at the time, the youngest pastor in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas — and he cares for roughly 220 families across the three parishes.
- Father Jaime Zarse — Pastor (installed September 9, 2018); previously associate pastor at Christ the King, Topeka, and chaplain of Hayden High School
- Parish is served from Sacred Heart, Sabetha
Visit St. James
St. James welcomes visitors and pilgrims in rural northeast Kansas. The parish is part of a cluster of small Catholic communities gathered under one pastor, and parishioners are known for the warmth of their welcome.
- Address: 512 Kansas Ave., Wetmore, KS 66550
- Parish hall phone: 785-866-5990
- Cluster website: http://nekansascatholics.org/
- Directions: from Highway 9 North, turn at First Street and go up Kansas Street four blocks; the church is on the east side on the right
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father John Begley of Effingham1877–
Organized the church at Wetmore; Wetmore remained a mission attached to Fidelity until 1888.
- Father Angelus Lingenfelser, OSB1938–1948
First resident pastor; led 1940s remodel and sacristy addition, acquired adjoining property, oversaw parish house and sisters' residence; also started the parish school with religious sisters.
- Father Germain Kucklemann
Pastored during the 1950–51 remodeling; helped design the new altar that was built/carved by Brothers Walter Landwehr and Emmanuel Prez of the Abbey.
- Father Kent O'Connor
Helped the parish get the new church project off the ground and to completion (2009).
- Father Balachandra R. Miriyala
Helped the parish get the new church project off the ground and to completion (2009).
- Father Jaime Zarse2018–present
Installed September 9, 2018 by Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann as the archdiocese's youngest pastor; serves the triad of Sacred Heart–Sabetha, St. Augustine–Fidelity, and St. James–Wetmore.