Rev. C.S. Macreading came from New England, where he had held leading appointments in the Providence and New England Conferences for many years. He had located, and had come West, seeking a field of labor. Coming to Milwaukee, he found the charge vacant, by the removal of the former Pastor on account of affliction in his family, and was employed by the Elder. He served his full term, and at its close the people were reluctant to part with him. Brother Macreading was a man of superior preaching talent; had an earnest spirit, and a warm heart. At Spring Street, the Lord greatly blessed his labors in the conversion of souls, several of whom remain to this day to bless the Church with their wise counsel and devoted services. In entering upon the labor of the year, it was my first concern to retrieve, if possible, the disaster which had befallen the Society in the loss of the Church. But to do this, it was deemed important to put every branch of the work in the best possible condition. In this endeavor I had the earnest co-operation of the Official Board, composed at this time of Rev. T.T. Greenwood, Rev. Edwin Hyde, and Messrs. John H. Van Dyke, J.B. Judson, A.J.W. Pierce, Walter Lacy, Cornelius Morse, Daniel Petrie, Jonathan Crouch, James Seville, H.W. Goodall, Thomas Greenwood, O.H. Earl, J.R. Cocup, James Cherry, and Lawrence Harrison. The spiritual condition of the Society was excellent, and the class and prayer meetings were in a flourishing condition. The next thing to be done was to organize the financial department. In doing this I submitted a new plan, called the "Card System," for raising the current expenses. The plan provided for monthly payments, and was operated through the use of cards. These were so prepared as to contain a subscription on one side, and rulings for entering the payments monthly on the other. The subscriptions were to be made at the beginning of the year, and each subscriber was expected to hand to the collector the several amounts promptly. The plan worked admirably, and placed the finances in a healthy condition.