 Upon his graduation in 1905, he opted to seek ordination not in the Reformed Presbyterian Church in which he had been raised, but rather in the larger Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.In October, the Presbytery of Jersey City ordained Macartney to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of Paterson, New Jersey, a struggling downtown congregation, into which Macartney's energy breathed new life.During this period, Macartney became an outspoken advocate of prohibition.