Wellington Baptist Church Privacy Policy - Wellington Baptist Church

Here at Wellington Baptist Church we take your privacy seriously. This statement sets out how we will deal with any personal information we collect from you or that you provide to us.

Who are we?

Wellington Baptist Church will collect and deal with your personal information in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations. The church leadership team is the Data Controller of the personal data we hold about you; this means we decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes. The church Data Protection Officer is currently Helen Wallwork.

How we collect personal information

We collect personal information directly from you. We may also collect information from others about you from time to time including from other members and friends of the church or your previous church.

What information might we collect from you?

We may collect and process the following information about you:

Your contact details – title, name, address, telephone number and email address.
Your participation in rotas for service in the church.
Information contained in emails or other correspondence from you and records of telephone calls or meetings with you.
Your church membership status.
Details of money that you give to the church and gift aid declarations.
Your bank details to the extent you provide them to us for a specific purpose (for example for the processing of expenses).
Information contained in checks provided by the Disclosure & Barring Service.
Information that you share with us for the purposes of pastoral care, encouragement, training and prayer.

Sensitive Personal Data

The Data Protection Act recognises some information as Sensitive Personal Data. This includes, but is not limited to information which reveals your religious beliefs, health issues, race or ethnic origin. We will always treat any sensitive personal data we process with the greatest care and in accordance with Data Protection Regulation.

How may we use your personal information?

Personal information that we collect may be used by us in a number of ways:

To maintain our lists of church members, regular attenders and friends, including the Church Directory.
To provide pastoral care and support for members and others connected with our church.
To help us provide services to the community including children’s and youth groups and Meeting Point, and otherwise engage with our community.
To help us organise rotas and groups and to communicate with you, ensuring the smooth running of the church.
To recruit, support and manage staff, contractors and volunteers.
To enable us to maintain appropriate safeguarding arrangements for our children, young people and vulnerable adults.
To tell you about events that the church or other relevant churches or organisations are running which we think may be of interest to you.
To maintain our accounts and records and process gift aid declarations.
To maintain the security of our property and premises.
To rent out our residential premises, and license or hire out rooms within our existing church premises, and the management and maintenance of all our premises;
To respond effectively to enquirers and to properly handle any complaints.
Exceptionally, to deal with church discipline in accordance with the church’s constitution.

What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

All personal data which we collect must be fairly and lawfully processed. Data protection legislation allows us to process most of the information we hold as we regard it as being in the church’s legitimate interest.

Personal data may also be processed in accordance with any of the following conditions:

With your explicit consent.
Where processing is necessary for carrying out obligations under contract between you and the church (for example in the case of employment).
Where necessary for the church to meet its legal obligations.
Where necessary to protect your vital interests.

Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with other members, regular attendees and friends of the church for purposes connected with the church.

The Church Directory containing your contact details is distributed in hard copy to church members, regular attendees and friends of the church. The Elders also hold an electronic copy of the Church Directory and a copy is kept in the Church Office. We will not give copies of the Church Directory to anyone else.

Financial and gift aid information is password protected and is only accessed by the Church Minister and the member(s) of the Church’s designated Finance Team responsible for processing gift aid declarations.

We will share your data with third parties outside of Wellington Baptist Church only when we have a legal basis to do so. For example, some of your personal data summarised above is uploaded to Churchbuilder to assist us with arranging church rotas and help with the smooth running of the church. We have entered into an agreement with the developer of Churchbuilder: Concordant Systems Limited, in which it confirms it in turn complies with the General Data Protection Regulations.

Your data may from time to time be transferred outside the EU, for example through use of Dropbox, to the extent only where we are permitted by the General Data Protection Regulations. Dropbox files are only accessed by the Church Minister and are password protected.

We will take all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy statement.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We will store your personal information for no longer than is reasonably necessary, usually only for the time that you are involved with the church. After this we may continue to hold your contact details for as long as you agree in order to keep you informed about the ministry of the church. Specifically, we retain membership data while it is still current. Church accounts, Gift aid declarations and all associated documentation is retained for a period of 7 years after the calendar year to which the data relates. Church minutes, registers and records for baptisms, marriages and funerals are retained permanently.

Your rights regarding your personal data

The rights you have with respect to your personal data include:

The right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data – as detailed in this Privacy Notice.
The right of access to a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
The right to require that we correct any personal information if it is found to be inaccurate.
The right to request that your personal data is erased from our records.
Where your personal data is being processed with your consent, the right to withdraw your consent at any time without detriment.
The right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe that the church has not handled your personal data in accordance with data protection law.

Contact Details

To exercise all relevant rights, queries or complaints please contact the church Data Protection Officer through the church office or by emailing dataprotectionofficer@wbchurch.biz.