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. 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. At some point between 1911 and 1914 (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.
From the description of The Benevolent Fraternity of Unitarian Churches records [electronic resource]. 1834-1997. (Simmons College). WorldCat record id: 48592322
