edition of this same work published in England in 1791, Winchester wrote in the Translator's Preface, "I bless God that I was ever acquainted with Dr. George de Benneville, for such a humble, pious, loving man I have scarcely ever seen in my pilgrimage through life." The community in which de Benneville lived also influenced Winchester's adoption of restoration. Eastern Pennsylvania was also home to communities of pious people such as the Schwarzenau Brethren. The Schwarzenau Brethren were also called the German Baptist Brethren, Tunkers, or more commonly, the Brethren. Rev. Morgan Edwards, a Baptist minister and historian, once shared with Winchester about the Brethren saying, "God will always have a visible people on earth, and these are his people at present above any other people in the world." Roger E. Sappington observed in his book The Brethren in the Carolinas that the "Brethren’s emphasis on the New Testament and its pattern of God's love through Christ had made the Brethren susceptible to the wiles of Universalism in the first place." Christopher Sauer, a member of the Brethren community, published the English version of The Everlasting Gospel in 1753 that influenced Winchester. Others in Winchester's circle of advocates included Benjamin Rush and Rev. John Murray. Rush, a physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, attended Winchester's services, corresponded with Winchester during his stay in London, and, when needed, rendered medical attention. Rush's relationship with Winchester may have been based more on friendship than ardent religious affiliation. In a letter to John Adams, Rush describes his religious views as "a compound of the orthodoxy and heterodoxy of most of our Christian churches." Murray, credited as a founder of American Universalism, also corresponded and traveled from New England to visit Winchester in Philadelphia. Murray and Winchester never drew close. Murray had reservations about Winchester's theology. Murray's theology was based on James Relly's Union between Christ and humankind that brought about salvation. Winchester believed that sin required harsh curative torment in the afterlife resulting in the eventual salvation of all souls. Despite these differences, Murray and Winchester were highly regarded among the budding communities of Universalists in New England and cooperated as needed. Oxford Massachusetts Meeting (1785) In April 1785, Universalists in Oxford, Massachusetts organized the Second Religious Society, sometimes known as the Oxford Universalist Society. The church elders were aware of the obstacles a religious society faced that was organized outside