THE REFUGE CHURCH WRITTLE CHELMSFORD
Privacy/Data Protection Policy
The Refuge Church Trust has adopted this policy as we recognise the right of people to keep their
personal information private. This privacy policy cover’s The Refuge Church’s use of personally
identifiable information that you provide, and we collect or hold.
DATA PROTECTION
This policy explains how The Refuge Church complies with the DPA (Data Protection Act), the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into effect on 25 May 2018, and the
Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. We may update this policy upon the UK’s exit
from the European Union.
By providing your personal details you agree to allow The Refuge Church to contact you by mail,
email, telephone, SMS text message or social media platforms in connection with its charitable
purposes. either on the basis of the consents you have given us or for our legitimate interests in
accordance with current data protection regulations.
HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
We collect personal information each time you are in contact with us. For example, when you:
• provide your contact details, in writing or orally, to The Refuge Church staff or volunteers;
• make a donation, by the completion of Gift Aid forms, via our website or electronic means;
• register for or attend a conference or other events of The Refuge Church;
• communicate with The Refuge Church by means such as email, letter, telephone;
• face to face meetings with staff and volunteers;
• use The Refuge Church website
• access social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram
HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
The Refuge Church will use the personal information we collect for the purpose disclosed at the
time of collection, or otherwise as set out in this privacy policy. We will not use your personal
information for any other purpose without first seeking your consent, unless authorised or required
by law. Generally, we will only use and disclose your personal information as follows:
• to keep you informed by text and/or email as to church services, activities, resources and
conferences;
• to establish and maintain your involvement with The Refuge Church, events you have
attended, what areas and activities of The Refuge Church you have supported, record and
acknowledge any donation, to provide the products you have requested;
• to answer an inquiry or request for further information or complaint about The Refuge
Church, its services, activities and events;
• to register you for events and conferences;
• to assist us to make The Refuge Church’s websites, services and care more valuable to our
community;
• for promotion of products or services and to keep you informed of new developments we
believe may be of interest to you. If we contact you in this way without obtaining your prior
consent, we will provide you with the opportunity to decline any further promotional
communications;
• to maintain and accurately report Gift Aid according to the guidelines set out by HMRC;
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• to improve our general ability to assist The Refuge Church attendees and the wider
community;
• to assist The Refuge Church and its leadership with management of issues relating to The
Refuge Church; and
• to enable the Pastors of The Refuge Church to communicate with you occasionally
personally and directly.
WHO SEES YOUR INFORMATION?
The information you provide to us will be held on computers in the UK and the European Union
and may be accessed by or given to our staff at The Refuge Church for the purposes set out in this
policy or for other purposes approved by you. The Refuge Church ’s staff and approved volunteers
may process information, fulfil and deliver orders and provide support services on our behalf.
We do not sell or pass any of your personal information to any other organisations and/or
individuals.
By providing us with your details you are giving The Refuge Church your express permission to
transfer your data to our service providers including database providers and mailing houses (such
as MailChimp), to enable fulfilment of the purpose for collection.
Where such details are shared, we have confidentiality agreements in place that restrict the use of
your information to the purpose for which it is provided and ensure it is stored securely and kept no
longer than necessary.
If you have given your consent to have your personal details included in our The Refuge Church
Member’s Directory, then this information will be available to other Members of The Refuge Church
(who have also given consent). This is distributed in an electronic and print form to The Refuge
Church Members.
SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION
The Refuge Church may collect and store sensitive personal information such as health
information, religious information (church attendance) when you and/or your family attend, register
for church events and conferences. Your personal information will be kept strictly confidential. It is
never sold, given away, or otherwise shared with anyone, unless required, by law.
There may also be times when you disclose sensitive personal information with the Eldership and
Pastoral Team in times of crisis or care. This information will be kept in the strictest confidence and
will only be shared with those individuals who are directly involved in the care process. The only
exception to this would be if there are safeguarding concerns, then we are obligated to notify the
relevant authorities.
The Eldership and Pastoral Teams work in accountability with one another to safeguard and
ensure an appropriate level of care is being exercised and therefore will share among themselves
what has been discussed.
You can ask any time who has been informed of your sensitive personal information.
KEEPING DETAILS UP TO DATE
Please tell us as soon as any of your contact details change so that we can keep our records up to
date. You can change the way we contact you, or the kind of material we send you, at any time by
updating your communication settings by contacting us by mail, email or telephone using the
contact details below.
You can unsubscribe from our regular emails or texts at any time by using the ‘unsubscribe or
‘change preferences links on the email or texts you have received.
ACCESS TO YOUR INFORMATION
You can request access to the personal information that The Refuge Church holds about you by
contacting The Refuge Church’s Data as set out below. We will provide you with access to your
personal information unless we are legally authorised to refuse your request.
If you wish to change personal information that is out of date or inaccurate at any time, please
contact us. The Refuge Church will take reasonable steps to correct any of your information which
is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. If you wish to have your personal information deleted,
please let us know and we will delete that information wherever practicable.
We may refuse your request to access, amend or delete your personal information in certain
circumstances. If we do refuse your request, we will provide you with a reason for our decision
and, in the case of amendment, we will note with your personal information that you have disputed
its accuracy.
SECURITY
The Refuge Church will take reasonable steps to keep secure any personal information, which we
hold and to keep this information accurate and up to date. Personal information, held electronically,
is stored in a secure server or secure files.
The Internet is not a secure method of transmitting information. Accordingly, The Refuge Church
cannot accept responsibility for the security of information you send to or receive from us over the
Internet or for any unauthorised access or use of that information. We take security measures to
protect your information from access by unauthorised persons and against unlawful processing,
accidental loss, destruction, and damage. Your information will be held for a reasonable period or
for as long as the law requires or permits.
If you cease to be an active member of The Refuge Church, then your contact details will be
destroyed within 12 months of leaving.
In the case of Gift Aid forms, we will adhere to current legal guidelines set out by the HMRC and
these financial records will be kept for 6 years from the end of the accounting period they relate to.
After this timescale has passed, the records will be suitably destroyed.
COOKIES POLICY
Cookies are small amounts of information that we store on your computer when browsing our
website. Unless you changed your internet browser settings accordingly, our system will issue
cookies to your computer when you view the website. Cookies make it easier for you to view and
use the site during future visits. They also help to monitor website traffic and to personalise the
content of the site for you but will not store save or collect personal information. You may set up
your computer to reject cookies although, in that case, you may not be able to use certain features
on our site.
LINKS
Our website may also include links to other websites. Links provided by The Refuge Church are for
your convenience to provide further information. We use websites such as Vimeo and YouTube to
embed videos on our website, service providers such as Church Suite, MailChimp and Google
Analytics and you may be sent cookies from them via our site. Please look at the cookie and
privacy policies on these third-party sites if you want more information about this. Users should
therefore note they click on external links at their own risk, and we cannot be held liable for any
damages or implications caused by visiting any external links.
SOCIAL MEDIA
The Refuge Church uses social media such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Users must
verify authenticity of sites before posting or providing personal information on such sites.
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Our website may provide social media buttons, permitting sharing our web content directly to a
social media, platform. Use of such buttons is at your own risk.
Unless it is material supplied or officially posted by The Refuge Church, we do not endorse social
media website(s) and have no responsibility for the content nor for the cookies they may contain.
The Refuge Church does not ask for passwords nor personal details on social media. The Refuge
Church may use additional social media platforms in the future.
DOWNLOADS
Any documents or files made available to download from our website are provided at user’s own
risk.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
The Refuge Church may amend this privacy policy from time to time to ensure compliance with
changes or amendments to the law of the UK. Any amended version will be available upon
request. We will also have a copy on our website in due course The Refuge Church
etchworth.co.uk
CONTACT DETAILS
If you would like any further information, or have any queries, problems or complaints relating to
The Refuge Church’s privacy policy or our information handling practices in general, please
contact our Data Officer by: Emailing: info@therefugechurch.org.uk or
Writing: Data Officer, The Refuge Church, 51 The Green, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3DT
INFORMATION COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE
You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on 0303 123 1113 or via email
info@therefugechurch.org.uk or via post : The Refuge Church, 51 The Green, Writtle, Chelmsford,
Essex, CM1 3DT
ORGANISATION DETAILS
The Refuge Church
Registered Office: The Refuge Church, 51 The Green, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3DT
You can see our Data Protection Notice for collecting information about children
attending a church event here
DATE of Policy Version
November 2021 V.1.1