As a church, we need to protect your data by ensuring it is held securely to protect against those with bad intent from gaining access. Trust is paramount; therefore, we must be proactive about security to protect our church families by ensuring our data is accurate and secure.
What data do we hold?
Across the circuit, we use a central database called Churchsuite. On this, we hold the names and addresses of those attending our churches regularly, along with contact details including phone numbers and email addresses. We also store details of dates relating to training undertaken and DBS checks. Records are also tagged with roles so that we can send appropriate information to those in office.
Church officers may also hold contact details of individuals within small groups. A pastoral visitor, for example, may have a list of those they visit.
Who can access the data?
Ministers, administrators, and church officers in roles where they need to contact members of the church family, safeguarding officers, pastoral secretaries, and treasurers can access the data.
Can I see my data?
You can log into Churchsuite and review and update your address and contact details. You can also decide what details you might want to share with other members of your church family.
Will my data be shared with others?
Yes, within your church family, you can opt to share contact details. But the only data that can be shared is what you permit! You can do this by logging into your personal Churchsuite account and determining what others within your church family can view. You may, for example, be happy for others to know your mobile number but not your home phone number; you may also not want others to see your address. If you do not have or want computer access to set these parameters, you can ask your pastoral secretary to do that.
Disposing of data:
If you cease to hold a role within the church, you should delete all contact data and destroy any written records. This includes contact details on a mobile phone, address books, and diaries. If you use a computer, tablet, or mobile phone and upgrade it, all data should be wiped from that device before disposal. Never give away or sell old devices without ensuring they have been adequately cleaned.
Data Protection and Privacy
The Southport Circuit and all Churches, Circuits and Districts are included in the connexion registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Data Controller for safeguarding matters only is the Connexional Team and the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes for all other matters.
Purpose of this privacy notice
This privacy notice aims to give you information on how Local Churches, Circuits and Districts within the Methodist Church in Great Britain collect and process your personal data, which either you provide to us or we obtain and hold about you, including any data you may provide when you become a member, volunteer to help at your Local Church or provide your details to be included in the Circuit or District directories. It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or dealing with personal data about you (e.g. website privacy notices and employment privacy notices) so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.
Full details for Local Churches, Circuits and Districts within the Methodist Church in Great Britain may be viewed on this link. Managing Trustees’ Privacy Notice
Concerns and requests relating to data held should be addressed to the Circuit Administrator.
Churchsuite
Southport Methodist Circuit uses a Chuchsuite to help us be organised and effectively manage the holding of personal data of its members, adherents and others with whom it wishes to communicate on a long-term basis.
Website Cookies
This site uses cookies – small text files that are placed on your machine to help the site provide a better user experience. In general, cookies are used to retain user preferences, store information for things like shopping baskets, and provide anonymised tracking data to third party applications like Google Analytics. As a rule, cookies will make your browsing experience better. However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this site and on others. The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. We suggest consulting the Help section of your browser.
As a church, we need to protect your data by ensuring it is held securely to protect against those with bad intent from gaining access. Trust is paramount; therefore, we must be proactive about security to protect our church families by ensuring our data is accurate and secure.
What data do we hold?
Across the circuit, we use a central database called Churchsuite. On this, we hold the names and addresses of those attending our churches regularly, along with contact details including phone numbers and email addresses. We also store details of dates relating to training undertaken and DBS checks. Records are also tagged with roles so that we can send appropriate information to those in office.
Church officers may also hold contact details of individuals within small groups. A pastoral visitor, for example, may have a list of those they visit.
Who can access the data?
Ministers, administrators, and church officers in roles where they need to contact members of the church family, safeguarding officers, pastoral secretaries, and treasurers can access the data.
Can I see my data?
You can log into Churchsuite and review and update your address and contact details. You can also decide what details you might want to share with other members of your church family.
Will my data be shared with others?
Yes, within your church family, you can opt to share contact details. But the only data that can be shared is what you permit! You can do this by logging into your personal Churchsuite account and determining what others within your church family can view. You may, for example, be happy for others to know your mobile number but not your home phone number; you may also not want others to see your address. If you do not have or want computer access to set these parameters, you can ask your pastoral secretary to do that.
Disposing of data:
If you cease to hold a role within the church, you should delete all contact data and destroy any written records. This includes contact details on a mobile phone, address books, and diaries. If you use a computer, tablet, or mobile phone and upgrade it, all data should be wiped from that device before disposal. Never give away or sell old devices without ensuring they have been adequately cleaned.
Data Protection and Privacy
The Southport Circuit and all Churches, Circuits and Districts are included in the connexion registration with the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Data Controller for safeguarding matters only is the Connexional Team and the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes for all other matters.
Purpose of this privacy notice
This privacy notice aims to give you information on how Local Churches, Circuits and Districts within the Methodist Church in Great Britain collect and process your personal data, which either you provide to us or we obtain and hold about you, including any data you may provide when you become a member, volunteer to help at your Local Church or provide your details to be included in the Circuit or District directories. It is important that you read this privacy notice together with any other privacy notice or fair processing notice we may provide on specific occasions when we are collecting or dealing with personal data about you (e.g. website privacy notices and employment privacy notices) so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your data. This privacy notice supplements the other notices and is not intended to override them.
Full details for Local Churches, Circuits and Districts within the Methodist Church in Great Britain may be viewed on this link. Managing Trustees’ Privacy Notice
Concerns and requests relating to data held should be addressed to the Circuit Administrator.
Churchsuite
Southport Methodist Circuit uses a Chuchsuite to help us be organised and effectively manage the holding of personal data of its members, adherents and others with whom it wishes to communicate on a long-term basis.
Website Cookies
This site uses cookies – small text files that are placed on your machine to help the site provide a better user experience. In general, cookies are used to retain user preferences, store information for things like shopping baskets, and provide anonymised tracking data to third party applications like Google Analytics. As a rule, cookies will make your browsing experience better. However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this site and on others. The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. We suggest consulting the Help section of your browser.