| Creator | Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches (Boston, Mass.) |
| Title | Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches (Boston, Mass.) records |
| Dates | 1834-1997 |
| Identification | CC 21 |
| Quantity | 0.5 linear feet (1 manuscript container) |
| Collection Abstract | The records of the Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches contain annual reports dating from 1901 to 1962. There are also four early discourses on the organization by leading members (including Joseph Tuckerman). In addition, there a number of newsletters entitled "Our Fraternity Bulletin" covering the period from 1931 to 1941 and a pamphlet issued by the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry in 1997. |
| Historical Abstract | In 1826, Joseph Tuckerman, a Unitarian minister, began a “mission to the poor” under the aegis of the American Unitarian Association. Tuckerman believed that religious leaders had a duty to visit and counsel the needy, the sick, and the incarcerated, regardless of religious affiliation or instruction. He called for a “ministry at large; a ministry whose object it shall be to seek out those, who, to be found, must be sought...” In 1834, the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches (BFC), an association of Boston Unitarian churches, was formed in large part to formalize and centralize Tuckerman’s Ministry At Large. |
| Language | Material in English. |
| Location | Collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Archives staff for more information. |
Collection is open.
Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question, unless otherwise designated.
Please contact the College Archivist with requests to publish any material from the collection.
[Identification of item: description and date], Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches (Boston, Mass.) records, CC 21, Simmons College Archives, Boston, MA, USA.
Transferred from the Simmons College School of Social Work Library, 1991.
Accession number: 1998.046
Processed by Laura Finkel, September 1998
Supervised by Claire Goodwin and Joan Gearin
This collection guide was encoded as part of the LEADS project by Justin Snow, April 2013
In 1826, Joseph Tuckerman, a Unitarian minister, began a “mission to the poor” under the aegis of the American Unitarian Association. Tuckerman believed that religious leaders had a duty to visit and counsel the needy, the sick, and the incarcerated, regardless of religious affiliation or instruction. He called for a “ministry at large; a ministry whose object it shall be to seek out those, who, to be found, must be sought...”(1)
In 1834, the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches (BFC), an association of Boston Unitarian churches, was formed in large part to formalize and centralize Tuckerman’s Ministry At Large. The BFC also provided free chapels within the city, in accordance with Tuckerman’s belief that all socio-economic classes of Christians should have a place to worship. The BFC also upheld Tuckerman’s vision of social change through the promotion of self-reliance rather than charity. They did so through industrial and domestic instruction. By 1880 the BFC had delegates from eight churches and maintained four free chapels, two of which supported sewing schools for girls. By 1899 the number of BFC chapels had grown to six, each of which provided instruction in a many areas, including, literature, history, music, domestic skills, and industrial work.(2)
As time passed, the BFC took on several projects to serve the community, including children’s summer camps, assistance for the homeless, and a long-running campaign called the Benevolent Fraternity Fruit and Flower Mission. The Mission fell under the direction of the BFC in 1908. Previously it was run by Helen W. Tinkham, who founded it in 1869. For nearly a hundred years, the mission distributed flowers, as well as fruits and vegetables, “to those in the city who love them but have little if any opportunity to secure them.”(3)
At some point between 1911 and 1914 (the sources are not clear), the BFC changed its name to the Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches. The organization continued its operation with the same philosophy into the twentieth century, and still thrives today working under the name of the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry, located at 110 Arlington Street in Boston.(4)
The papers of the Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches contain annual reports dating from 1901 to 1962. There are also four early discourses on the organization by leading members (including Joseph Tuckerman). In addition, there a number of newsletters entitled "Our Fraternity Bulletin" covering the period from 1931 to 1941 and a pamphlet issued by the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry in 1997.
These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.
Collection is arranged into 4 series:
Part of the School of Social Work Library Charities Collection.
This series contains four booklets issued by the BFC within the first fifty years of its existence. They deal generally with the philosophy and methods of the organization.
"Letter to the Executive Committee of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches Respecting their Organization for the Support of the Ministry at Large in Boston" by Joseph Tuckerman was issued by on the occasion of the founding of the BFC. In it Tuckerman outlined how and why he started a Ministry at Large in Boston. He also described his basic philosophy on assisting the needy, and included suggestions for a BFC method of operation.
"The Object, Subjects, and Methods of the Ministry at Large: A Discourse Delivered Before the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches" by Ezra S. Gannett revisited the basic framework of the fraternity. Gannett described the purpose of the BFC’s ministry at large, its projected beneficiaries, and its methods.
"Jesus and Jerusalem: or Christ the Saviour and Civilizer of the World: A Discourse Preached Before the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches" was written by C. A. Bartol wherein he asserted that every human being, regardless of social class, had a right to Christian instruction, and that with that instruction each individual could become a better citizen.
"Address by Rev. R.C. Waterston at the Public Meeting of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches" used a brief history of the Ministry at Large and its original precepts in order to validate the existing organization.
Box 1
The Annual Reports listed the members of the board of directors as well as the various committees. Delegates from each Unitarian church in the fraternity were also listed. Meeting dates were included as well. The bulk of the Annual Reports was generally accounts of activities and progress of the various chapels and projects.
Box 1
"Our Fraternity Bulletin" was a yearly BFC newsletter which outlined the progress and activities of each of the chapels and projects of the fraternity. Many also included a report from one or more officers of the board of directors. At the back of the bulletins were lists of officers, member chapels and their delegates, as well as committees and projects and their members.
Box 1
Box 1
