have a claim." Meeting their needs should have priority Finally, Potter said in his Sixth Annual Account of the Parish Work that "the cynicism and indifference which sneers at all charity alike" is worse than "the sentimentalism of indiscriminate and thoughtless charity." On December 19, 1874, Potter was elected as bishop of the Diocese of Iowa on the second ballot. However, he declined the election because, as he said, "his commitment to Grace Church had priority." Ministry to the poor In October 1875, Potter called Sister Louise, a member of the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion, as Parish Visitor at Grace Chapel, and she accepted. One of the things she did was organize St. Catharine's Guild. The Guild had seventeen members. They were all working women who had families to care for. The Guild members visited and cared for "the sick poor" by sewing for and reading to them. They also helped disabled persons get to worship. They brought children to be baptized and adults to Sister Louise's Bible class, which had more than 150 members. Potter's desire to minister to the poor was actualized by building the Grace Memorial House as a nursery and rebuilding Grace Chapel in 1876 for use as a community center offering classes teaching English and other things to immigrants. In Potter's vision, the "ideal parish" was permeated by both a "sense of privilege" and a "sense of responsibility." Church people "should be intent not on the advancement" of the Christian Church, but on "the health, the character, and the happiness of all the citizens." This meant that serving God was not for just religious professionals, but "all are summoned to serve Him in the normal occupations of the common life." While insisting on serving God through "social service" by the parish and its members, Potter stressed "the essential necessity of the life of the Spirit." In the layout of church buildings the social service buildings, Grace Hall and Grace House, were beside Grace Chapel. This layout bore witness "to the fact that they who would serve the community well must first seek strength from on high." Accomplishments By the end of Potter's tenure at Grace Church, four new buildings had been built. In Grace Chapel, there were services in German. Pastoral visits were being made. The children were being instructed. There were sixteen organizations which addressed "a wide range of spiritual and physical needs."