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.Of greatest importance atthis time was the passage of the Trinity Bill (1813), which finally madeUnitarianism legal.Several Anglican clergy attacked the Unitariansand said the old laws denying civil rights to deniers of the Trinityshould be restored.Belsham courageously defended the Unitarian faithin print and from pulpit against all challenges.An assistant came to joinBelsham in 1825.By this date there were over 200 Unitarian churchesin England, whereas when he became Unitarian in 1789 there wereonly two.Belsham had always had weight problems, and this becameeven more problematic as he aged.He finally had to use crutches con-stantly in order to get around.Being obese contributed to failing health,and he died in 1829.BENEVOLENT FRATERNITY OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES(BFCC).Starting out as a mission effort to the poor, the BenevolentFraternity has evolved into the Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry(UUUM).The organization had its origins on April 27, 1834, when nineBoston Unitarian churches united to form the Benevolent Fraternity ofChristian (later, Unitarian) Churches (BFCC).The focus was to supportJoseph Tuckerman s Ministry at Large, which was inaugurated in1826 to work with the poor in Boston.Within four years the BFCC hadbuilt two chapels, employed four ministers for outreach, and had 100volunteers to help instruct children and adults in such skills as readingand sewing.The first chapel, Friend Street Chapel, was constructed in1827.Friend Street closed in 1836 when the larger Pitts Street Chapelopened.Two of the early ministers in the ministry-at-large as it evolvedinto the BFCC were Charles Francis Barnard and Frederick T.Gray.Barnard later left the BFCC and ministered to the independent WarrenStreet Chapel for 32 years.Warren Street Chapel closed in 1925, but itlives on as the Barnard Memorial Fund, administered by the UUUM.John Turner Sargent served the Northampton Street Chapel(1837 1839) and then its successor, the Suffolk Street Chapel, whichbecame the largest chapel under the auspices of the BFCC.A significant event in BFCC history occurred in 1844 when Sargentexchanged with Theodore Parker.The Executive Committee of theBFCC declared that none of its ministers should exchange pulpits with BERRY STREET CONFERENCE " 55the heretical Parker again.To defend the principle of the free pulpit,Sargent resigned his position.One of the longer term BFCC ministrieswas that of Andrew Bigelow who came to be minister-at-large in 1845and stayed until 1877, first at Pitts Street Chapel, and later as visitorand spiritual advisor.The Hanover Street Chapel was founded in 1853and it later evolved into the North End Union, a social work agency.In 1869 the Pitts Street Chapel was succeeded by the Bulfich PlaceChapel.It was served for 33 years (1894 1927) by ChristopherRhodes Eliot, the brother of the famous poet T.S.Eliot.It finallyclosed in 1962 after many years as an effective social work center.When the BFCC was organized in 1834, Joseph Tuckerman alsoformed the Association of Delegates from the Benevolent Societiesin 1834 to help coordinate the relief work of 21 Boston agencies orcharities.All of the congregations in Boston organized their ownBFCC auxiliaries that raised funds and recruited volunteers.The pro-grams of services and Sunday School at the chapels, and teaching ofpractical skills and visitation were primarily to produce a moral andeconomic improvement in the working class population.Historicallythe task of the BFCC was to aid individuals directly by providing areligious presence and social services.During the 1860s as immi-grant populations increased, a ministry to Italians, Spaniards, andGreeks was formed.The American Unitarian Association (AUA)also helped support the establishment of the ministry-at-large in othercities, including New York.Fifty-seven Unitarian Universalist con-gregations in greater Boston are members of what is now the UrbanMinistry.Programs today include Renewal House, a shelter for bat-tered women and their children, which opened in 1980; a variety ofYouth Programs for both teens and younger children that grew out ofthe presence of the First Church in Roxbury, which merged into theBenevolent Fraternity in 1976; social action ministries, which in-clude advocacy in a number of areas; and an Asian Food Pantry.Throughout its history from BFCC to UU Urban Ministry this organ-ization has advocated for the economic and educational reform of so-ciety through active social ministry.BERRY STREET CONFERENCE.On May 30, 1820, WilliamEllery Channing invited those ministers who were identified as lib-eral Christians to meet at the Federal Street Church to organize some 56 " BIANDRATA, GIORGIO (1516 1588)kind of group that would be mutually beneficial to all the clergy.Thedoor leading to the Federal Street Church vestry was on Berry Street.In the address he gave at the formation of this organization, Channingsaid, It was thought by some of us, that the ministers of this Com-monwealth who are known to agree in what are called Liberal andcatholic views of Christianity, needed a bond of union, a means of in-tercourse, and an opportunity of conference not as yet enjoyed (Channing, Life, p.218.).Channing proposed that the group meet an-nually especially to hear an address and also to spend time in prayer,hear reports on the churches, and to consider the best means for ad-vancing religion.The Berry Street Conference is the oldest Unitarianorganization still in existence today.An association of liberal con-gregations was first proposed at the conference s 1824 meeting, andthe American Unitarian Association (AUA) was organized the fol-lowing year.Octavius Brooks Frothingham reported that meetings ofthe conference were not advertised and attended almost exclusivelyby clergy [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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