DATA PROTECTION STATEMENT

When you provide personal data to The Vineyard Church St Albans (hereafter 'The Vineyard') you are trusting us with your information. We understand this is a big responsibility and have provided this policy as we recognise the right of people to keep their personal information private. This policy tells you how we deal with your personal data and privacy when you use or supply information on The Vineyard website, ChurchSuite, or if you supply personal information via another means to us. We want to help you understand what information we collect, why we collect it and what we do with it, as well as inform you of your responsibilities for other people’s data.

YOUR RIGHTS
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The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) provides the following rights for individuals:

- The right to be informed
- The right of access
- The right to rectification
- The right to erasure
- The right to restrict processing
- The right to data portability
- The right to object
- Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling.

You can read more about these rights on the ICO website.

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YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

In gaining access to ChurchSuite, as mentioned above, you will have access to personal data of those in the same ministry teams or connect groups. The Vineyard takes gathering and storing people’s personal data seriously and as such require your compliance with confidentiality in the following areas:


- You will never use personal data of others for your own personal use or gain in anyway.
- You will keep all individuals’ personal data you have access to private & confidential, with appropriate security measures.
- You will never download or disclose individuals’ personal data to a third party, unless written consent have been provided.
- You will only use personal data in line with the ministry guidelines set out by your staff overseer. If you wish to introduce any changes those must be approved by your staff overseer.
- In creating WhatsApp groups, you must obtain details from individuals on a personal basis, not from ChurchSuite. (We cannot guarantee WhatsApp’s compliance with GDPR.)
- When you no longer have access to personal data due to leaving a connect group or ministry, you will delete all individuals’ personal data that you have collected from your personal devices.
- You will report any breach in information to the Vineyard Church office immediately, and no later than 12 hours after learning of it.

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HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT YOU

The Vineyard collect personal information each time you are in contact with us whether this is electronically, by paper, in person, over the phone, or on arrival at an event. For example, when you:
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- Visit our websiteSign up for our newsletter
- Sign up for ChurchSuite via ‘Connect’ card, either online or by paper, to a Connect Group or to serve on a team or find out more information
- Register for a church event or conference
- Check your kids into a children’s event
- Make a donation by completion of Gift Envelopes, our website, ChurchSuite or by electronic means
- Provide your contact details, in writing or orally, to staff or volunteers
- Communicate with The Vineyard by means such as email, letter, telephone, or face to face
- Purchase goods or services, including when you provide credit or debit card details
- Access social media platforms

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HOW WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION

The Church complies with its obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by keeping personal information up to data; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of information; by protecting personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect your personal information.

The Vineyard’s basis for processing data is based on Consent & Legitimate Interests, & Legal Obligation.

Any information you provide to The Vineyard will only be used by The Vineyard and by its service providers. The Vineyard also works with other companies that help us provide products and services to you, and we use these companies to store or process your data your personal information in line with the express consent you have given us. For example, for our e-newsletter and our church contact database.

We are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfil our statutory obligations. We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity. At times The Vineyard may be required by law to disclose your personal information.

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WEBSITE

When someone visits www.verso.church we use a third-party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website

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USE OF COOKIES BY THE VINEYARD

You can read more about how we use cookies on our Cookies page.

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E-NEWSLETTER

We use a third-party provider, MailChimp, to deliver our monthly e-newsletters. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies including clear gifs to help us monitor and improve our e-newsletter.You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by using the ‘unsubscribe’ link on the emails you receive.

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CHURCHSUITE, CONNECT GROUPS & MINISTRIES

Details provided by you through ChurchSuite will be accessible by staff, approved volunteers, others in your ministry (rotas) and your connect group (if applicable) based on your visibility selection. The personal data in ChurchSuite will not be shared with anyone else in the church.

You have the right to request removal from ChurchSuite at any time. Please let us know if you are no longer interested in our information and we will remove you from the database.

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GIVING

The Vineyard handles donations confidentially. Only those approved staff & counters have access to the monies and treat it with the utmost confidence. Personal data collected through giving by Gift Envelopes, our website, ChurchSuite or by electronic means is stored securely.  

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PASTORAL INTERACTIONS

When communicating with a member of staff or volunteer about confidential matters, information may be noted. This personal data will be processed fairly and lawfully, kept securely and confidentially, and only for this specific purpose.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

We sometimes use a third-party provider, Hootsuite, to manage our social media interactions.If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message will be stored by Hootsuite for three months. It will not be shared with any other organisations.

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EMAIL COMMUNICATION

We monitor any emails sent to us, including file attachments, for viruses or malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send is within the bounds of the law. By emailing, you are giving consent for the recipient to respond.

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ACCESS & KEEPING DETAILS UP TO DATE

The Vineyard tries to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information.

The accuracy of your information is important to us. Please tell us as soon as any of your contact details changes so that we can keep our records up to date.

You have the right to ask for a copy of the information The Vineyard hold about you. To make a request for any personal information we may hold please put the request in writing and email us or write to the address provided below.

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COMPLAINTS OR QUERIES

The Vineyard tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. We are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.

If you want to make a complaint about the way we have processed your personal information, please contact us in the first instance by calling 01727 812765, emailing us or writing to the address below.

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CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

We keep our privacy notice under regular review. This privacy notice was last updated on 09 July 2019.

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HOW TO CONTACT US

If you want to request information about our privacy policy you can email us or write to:
The Vineyard Church St Albans, 7 Brick Knoll Park, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 5UG
office@verso.church