Councils and Committees

The Board of Assessors, the Board of Trustees, eight councils and numerous committees govern, run, and/or are responsible for most of the wide-ranging programs and activities at First Parish.

For more information on the groups described here, please contact the parish office.

Boards

Board of Assessors
One of the most important groups of volunteers within the church is the Board of Assessors, which is the elected governing body of the church. It consists of ten assessors, who serve three-year, rolling terms; a treasurer; and a clerk.

The Board works with the ministers and staff. It is responsible for the business affairs of the church, including praparing and reviewing the annual budget; personnel issues; the annual parish meeting; and defining and implementing First Parish policies and directions, in accordance with the bylaws and wishes of the congregation. The Board meets on the second Thursday of each month.

Board members serve as liaisons to the various committees and councils to assess the overall health of the congregation.

Members of the congregation are invited to contact the chair or another Board member with any questions or concerns about First Parish business matters.

Board of Trustees
The First Parish Trustees are responsible for the First Parish Endowment. The Endowment consists of a general fund and several smaller sub-funds, each donated for specific long-term purposes. The Trustees invest the assets of the endowment for long-term growth and income. The goal is to make the assets increase and to provide a growing stream of annual contributions to the operations of First Parish.

The Councils

Administration Council
The Administration Council supports the operation of the church office and its broad clerical needs by recruiting, scheduling and managing a volunteer staff to produce and distribute print publications, provide general office reception coverage, and assist the Church Administrator with other office tasks as requested.

Adult Religious Education (RE) Council
The Adult RE Council nurtures and stimulates the religious and personal growth of the adult church community and the community-at-large by offering a varied program within the context of the larger UU tradition. The committee plans, coordinates, and implements the Adult RE Program for the church year, including arranging for teachers and facilitators, scheduling classes, and handling registration.

Maintenance Council
The Maintenance Council is charged with the cleaning and upkeep of the Parish buildings and grounds. These tasks are accomplished through the use of contracted services and volunteer work of members of the Maintenance Council and the Parish. The Council identifies, coordinates and supervises major maintenance on the campus. Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month. Anyone interested in joining the Council is welcomed.

Membership Council
The Membership Council's mission is to enhance the meaning of membership for existing members; to welcome visitors and newcomers to First Parish; and to serve as a resource to visitors, newcomers, and members by matching them with the programs they are interested in and answering their questions about parish life.

MPC hosts the following activities:
- The Newcomers’ Table during coffee hour
- The Newcomers Coffee, several times a year, for people to gather informally and learn more about First Parish
- The New Members Sunday, each spring, to recognize and celebrate people who have joined First Parish in the past year

Programs Council
The mission of the Programs Council is to enrich the lives of individuals and broaden the church community by offering diverse programs that provide opportunities for mutual support, social interaction, spiritual growth, religious understanding, and a deeper understanding of the natural and spiritual worlds of which we are a part. Currently, the Council sponsors the following:

Zen Study Group
Caritas
Parents and Others
Book Discussion Group
Dinner Discussion Group
Church Picnic
Christmas Eve Wassail and Dinner
Passover Seder

Religious Education Council
The Religious Education Council oversees the operation of the church school and youth groups. It works with the Director of Religious Education to establish policies and budget, welcome new families, support the contributions of the volunteer teaching staff and advisors, and to review curricula.

The Council sponsors several annual events, such as intergenerational social gatherings, the UUSC’s Guest at Your Table, the December Intergenerational Service, the Undecorate the Christmas Tree Project, the Intergenerational Holiday Service, and the Eighth Grade Statements of Belief.

The Belonging is a Religious Experience (BRE) subcommittee provides assistance to children with a disability and their families, so that they may fully participate in the life of the church and truly belong.

Social Action Coordinating Council
The Social Action Council is an over-arching council that coordinates and supports varied opportunities for church members of all ages to live their beliefs. The Council works on local needs, such as homelessness prevention, urban ministry, ESL and recycling. It initiates the First Parish response in efforts such as the tsunami relief effort. The Council advances the work of the UU General Assembly and the UU Service Committee on social justice and world issues, such as global warming and nuclear disarmament.

Worship and Arts Council
The Worship and Arts Council consults with the minister and music director in supporting Sunday morning worship services through the year. The Council sponsors Sunday services when the ministerial staff is not in the pulpit. The Council is comprised of the following committees.

Sunday Morning Ushers and Greeters ensure that the Meeting House is ready, greet parishioners and visitors and direct them to their seats, distribute the Order of Service, and close the Meeting House after services.

Christmas Eve Meeting House Decorations Committee decorates the Meeting House for the holiday season.

Sunday Morning Chancel Decorations Committee offers an opportunity for individuals, families, or groups in First Parish to provide Sunday service flowers or other decorations in memory or honor of a loved one, a celebration, or an event. This is noted in the week’s Order of Service. Parishioners are invited to reserve a Sunday during the year.

Summer Sundays are lay-led services on a wide range of topics at 9:30 on Sunday mornings, followed by a social hour.

Committees

Canvass Committee
The Canvass Committee organizes the yearly pledge drive. The type of Canvass campaign varies from year to year (Celebration Sunday event, parishioner-to-parishioner contact, small group dinners) but the goal is always the same: to obtain a commitment of financial support from all our members. Pledges from our members fund 80% of our operating budget. The team welcomes volunteers to assist in its efforts.

Bylaws Committee
The Bylaws Committee publishes the Bylaws in proper form and recommends Bylaws amendments to the Parish.

Electronic Communications Committee
The Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) promotes and supports the use of electronic media and the Internet. A primary activity is to promote and maintain a website for First Parish that properly projects our active, dynamic church community. Our goal is to provide information about First Parish to interested newcomers and to be an online resource to members.

The committee supports the use of email and lists to distribute information, establishing policies and procedures for the use of electronic media that include protection of individual privacy, promoting the use of subwebs by interested councils and committees, and providing maintenance and support of the computer network and broadband internet connection used for First Parish offices.

All are welcome to join ECC and participate in person or by email. Volunteers are needed to post updates or to maintain committee subwebs. Committees interested in designating their own liaison to maintain information on the web or subweb are welcome. Forward information to ECC for posting. Public and hidden subwebs are encouraged.

Finance Committee
The Finance Committee acts as the budgeting arm for the church. Its basic functions are to request revenue and expense estimates for the coming fiscal year from each committee/department in the church; to understand their content and priority; to research their accuracy, based upon past and known future realities; to assemble and present this information to the Board of Assessors and the Parish members, and to revise and set the final budget.

First Parish in Framingham Committee on Ministry
The Committee on Ministry (CoM) supports and promotes the shared ministry of First Parish by acting as a communication conduit among the congregation, the minister, and the Board of Assessors. Ministry is everything our congregation does in pursuit of the welfare of our membership and wider community; thus, the CoM’s focus is the whole congregation, not any one program. Because ours is a shared ministry, there can be no anonymous communication or feedback accepted and offered by the CoM; rather the activities of the CoM are to:

1. Provide counsel to the minister, in an informal, confidential setting, with respect to any matters he/she might wish to put before the committee.

2. Advise the minister of circumstances or events that might provide opportunities, or pose difficulties, in the conduct of the ministry, and discuss or recommend possible avenues of action.

3. Devise and implement processes to improve the flow of communication among the congregation, the Board of Assessors and the minister.

4. Coordinate periodic assessments of the effectiveness of every facet of the congregation’s ministry.

5. Support to the Board of Assessors in its evaluation of the whole ministry of the congregation and the minister's performance.

Memorial Fund Committee
Gifts may be made to First Parish in memory of an individual or individuals, typically in place of flowers for funerals. Gifts can be tangible property or a cash contribution designated for the purchase of some item(s) for the Parish. We record in the Book of Remembrance each gift, the name of the giver (unless anonymity is preferred), and the name of the person in whose memory the gift is made. The Parish sends an acknowledgement of each gift received to the sender and to the nearest of kin of the person in whose memory the gift was given.

Music Committee
The Music Committee meets monthly with the goal of integrating music more completely into the life of First Parish. The committee’s responsibilities include advocating for the Music Director and parishioners, publicizing music activities and the goals of the music program, soliciting opinions from the parishioners, recruiting for the adult and children’s choirs, and working with the Worship and Arts Council in planning services through the year.

Nominating Committee
A five-member elected Nominating Committee meets during the year to identify and recruit nominees to present at the next annual meeting, as required, for the positions of Moderator, Clerk, Treasurer, Collector, Registrar, Historian, Assessors, Trustees, Auditor, Bylaws Committee Chairperson, and members of the Nominating Committee. The committee also fills vacancies that have occurred during the previous year.

Pies on the Common Committee
Pies on the Common is our church fair, a fundraising event held in October on Framingham Center Common. The fundraising is accomplished primarily through selling homemade pies (over 500 pies made in 2006!), raffle of a new quilt made by our members, and by renting space to crafters.

The church-sponsored tables include: Kids Corner, with children’s games and crafts; a Coffee Shop; our Food Court selling sausages, knockwurst, hot dogs and drinks; the Candy Shop, offering homemade fudge and novelty candies; and Grandmother’s Attic, a table of new or like-new gift items. Each year, a significant number of the First Parish community are involved in the effort, from making the quilt, to baking pies, to managing church-sponsored tables at the fair.

Participation at all levels ensures success; all are welcome to join this major event. Committee meetings are held almost monthly, through the year. Information is published in the church bulletin. The committee runs a table at Coffee Hour in September. Volunteers can also call the Parish Office.

Social Hour Committee
Following each service, parishioners are invited to Scott Hall for refreshments and conversation. The Social Hour Committee recruits two hosts for each Social Hour to set up and serve refreshments. Volunteers agree to host social hour at least two times during the church year.

Talent and Treasure Auction Committee
The 49th annual church-sponsored fundraiser, known as the Talent and Treasure Auction, was held in the spring of 2007.

The live and silent auctions feature items donated by parishioners and local businesses. The items offered have been as diverse as weekend getaways, handcrafted items, writing wills, dinners on the town, and homemade biscuits for a dog.

Themed baskets, created by church councils and committees, are raffled during the evening. Each year, a Pay It Forward item is chosen, to benefit a worthy program, and a significant amount is raised from the many contributions, small and large. All this is enjoyed in Scott Hall, with entertainment, wine, dinner, and dessert. For the unfortunate souls who are unable to attend the event, proxy bidding is available.

This significant fundraiser for First Parish rivals only Pies o -the Common for monetary success. The committee is growing every year and help is needed in many areas, big and small. It is a fun event to plan and attend.

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