Charter of the First Parish Social Justice Committee
November 2 2023
Purpose: According to the First Parish bylaws: “The Social Justice Committee shall study, inform and enlist support from members of the congregation on contemporary issues that involve our belief in human dignity.”
Membership: The Social Justice Committee (SJC) consists of 4-6 adult members, among which the committee selects a chair or co-chairs. In addition, there may be youth participants. Committee members are elected or appointed as specified by the First Parish bylaws. Youth may become participants through a process managed by the First Parish Youth Program Coordinator. When the committee makes a decision by vote, only committee members are eligible to vote.
Structure of the social justice program: Much of the social justice work at First Parish happens within working groups. Each group provides organizing leadership around a justice topic that aligns with energy and motivation for action in our congregation. In addition, some of the social justice programs that happen every year are managed in task groups established by SJC. Each task group sets its policies and procedures, with oversight from SJC. The task groups and the working groups are listed and described in the Social Justice section of the First Parish website. The social justice program council consists of the members of SJC, youth representatives, representatives of the working groups, and the minister responsible for supporting the social justice program.
Functions of the Social Justice Committee:
SJC serves as the central resource and facilitator of the social justice program at First Parish, providing congregational leadership in justice issues consistent with the UUA Principles related to justice. SJC evaluates the social justice program and seeks to discern needs, identify opportunities, and envision possibilities to strengthen the program and better serve the justice aspirations of the congregation, while accounting for evolution in the local and global landscapes of justice movements and organizations. Specific functions of the committee are:
- Convene the program council to coordinate the various components of the program and discuss needs and opportunities.
- Promote awareness and celebration of social justice efforts at First Parish.
- Facilitate task groups to conduct components of our program that have well-defined processes and few meetings.
- Evaluate proposals to initiate new self-directed working groups, considering whether there is sufficient volunteer energy and institutional capacity.
- Manage funding for special programs and for working group activities, except for any groups the congregation funds separately.
- Serve as an initial point of contact for outside groups seeking co-sponsorships and other forms of support and coordination.
- Organize and facilitate occasional actions and events that are outside the scope of any current working group.
Funds: SJC has a line item in the First Parish annual operating budget, and allocations from the SJC budget are decided by vote of SJC members. The funds are used to support and enable social justice programming at First Parish, including activities of social justice working groups and task groups, apart from any that may have their own budget line items. The funds are not used for contributing to outside organizations except as specified in the Social Justice Committee Policy on Funding Outside Organizations. In addition, SJC has control of funds from a trust fund account that is managed by the Trustees of Trust Funds. SJC allocations from that account are done according to the Social Justice Trust Fund Expenditure Policy.
Policies: The SJC policies currently in effect are:
- Social Justice Committee Policy on Funding Outside Organizations
- Social Justice Trust Fund Expenditure Policy
- Policy on Individuals Promoting a Cause or Event at Coffee Hour
Meetings: Social justice committee meetings are generally held monthly. These meetings are by online video conference. At each regular meeting, a specified first portion fully includes all members of the program council, including those that are not SJC members. That portion covers topics that are strongly related to the program as a whole, including near-term coordination issues and brief updates from working groups. The later portion covers topics related to the specific functions of SJC, and other program council members are welcome to stay and participate or not. In addition, the program council meets roughly quarterly, in person, to have extended discussions of program themes, communications, coordination, and cross-cutting issues and initiatives.
Reporting and communications:
- Write a segment on the program for the annual report.
- Use the E-Bulletin, the physical bulletin board in the vestry, and the Social Justice section of the web site connect congregants to information and events.
- Maintain the First Parish social justice email distribution list, as a forum for First Parish members to share information and promote social justice awareness, understanding, and action.
Relationship to staff:
- Coordinate with the ministers on worship, interfaith work, and general goals for social justice work in the congregation.
- Work with the Office Manager and Office Assistant to schedule events and to post announcements and news in the E-Bulletin and the website.
- Work with the Office Manager and the Treasurer to administer SJC funds, including payments of reimbursements and honoraria.
- Coordinate with the Minister of Religious Education and the Youth Program Coordinator on intergenerational learning and action.
Responsibilities of the chair(s):
- Coordinate scheduling of meetings of SJC and the program council, set meeting agendas, and facilitate the meetings.
- Respond to communications to SJC from people and organizations internal and external to First Parish. The responses may include direct replies as well as referrals to SJC (as a whole), working groups, task groups, staff, other committees, or others.
- Moderate the First Parish social justice email distribution list, verifying that submitted messages comply with the lists purposes and policies.