Social Responsibility Council (SRC)

First Parish holds social action as one of its most important values. In a recent survey, parishioners reported involvement in nearly 60 local, regional, and global organizations. The Social Responsibility Council (SRC) — established by a vote of the October 2021 Semi-Annual Meeting of the Parish — is tasked with acting on behalf of the First Parish community to fund social action projects that express UU values and center on:

• Education and awareness
• Service
• Action
• Dialogue and reflection

Funding is awarded via grants, which come from funding set aside in the First Parish annual budget, and the Share the Plate program, which gives half of the offering collected on the first Sunday of the month (and at the Christmas Eve services) to a selected recipient.

Recipients of these funds are selected from proposals submitted by First Parish parishioners! We invite anyone interested to propose an organization or project as a recipient of SRC funding. A potential recipient could be an organization or project you are involved in or one that you are aware of and find inspiring, has a particular need for support, or could benefit from expanded awareness of its work, whether it is local, national, international, or a previous recipient. You can view a list of past recipients here.

Seven members are elected to the SRC by Annual Meeting on a staggered basis to serve three-year terms. The SRC meets at 7:00pm generally on the fourth Wednesday of the month during the church year (please check the church calendar to confirm). Meetings are open to the community unless an executive session has been posted before the start of the meeting.

The SRC can be contacted at socialresponsibility@uubedford.org.