Data policy

St Barnabas Bethnal Green is an inclusive Anglican parish church in the Tower Hamlets Deanery in the Stepney episcopal area of the Diocese of London. We are based in the UK and governed solely by UK law.

This privacy policy will explain how our organization uses the personal data we collect from you when you use our website.

The church welcomes improvements to data protection laws and encourages discussion and debate on how we think about data privacy and how we manage to harness the power of data without sacrificing privacy and choice.

Topics:

  • What data do we collect?

  • How do we collect your data?

  • How will we use your data?

  • How do we store your data?

  • Marketing

  • What are your data protection rights?

  • What are cookies?

  • How do we use cookies?

  • What types of cookies do we use?

  • How to manage your cookies

  • Privacy policies of other websites

  • Changes to our privacy policy

  • How to contact us

  • How to contact the appropriate authorities

What data do we collect?

We collect the following data:

  • Requirements and statutory information for people arranging religious ceremonies and services such as weddings, baptisms, memorial services and confirmations

  • Requirements for people booking an educational visit to the church

  • Payment details for visitors pre-booking tickets for a church event

  • Payment details and gift records for people who make donations to the church

  • Requirements for hiring a room or space in the church

  • Areas of expertise for people working in partnership with the church to either contribute to, support or organise church services and events

  • Areas of expertise for people providing goods and services to support the work of the church

How do we collect your data?

You directly provide us with most of the data we collect. We collect data and process data when you:

  • Contact us with queries relating to worship, events and ceremonies

  • Voluntarily participate in a recorded event

  • Voluntarily submit an enquiry or ask to join our mailing list

  • Donate to St Barnabas Bethnal Green

  • Hire our space

  • Participate in a church survey

  • Use or view our website via your browser’s cookies

We may also receive your data indirectly from the following sources:

  • Information provided to us by family and friends

  • Social accounts linked with church clergy, PCC members and the Diocese of Stepney

How will we use your data?

We collect your data so that we can:

  • Communicate with you

  • Plan and record your participation in official church ceremonies

  • Compose an annual report

  • If applicable, register you for our electoral roll

  • Maintain a recorded archive of church events

  • Organise events and services held at the church

  • Perform religious ceremonies and services

  • Ensure the safety and security of people who work in or visit the church, as well as uphold our statuatory safeguarding duties

  • Provide pastoral care

  • Promote the work and activities of the church

  • Support raising funds for maintaining the church, supporting choristers and delivering education and outreach work; maintain a record of donations

  • Enable church facilities to be hired for private events and services; maintain a record of use

  • Recruit staff and volunteers

If you agree, we will share your data with Diocese of Stepney and other partnering organisations where applicable (for example, if an event is jointly organised).

How do we store your data?

Your data is stored by Google, Squarespace and where applicable, social media providers including Facebook (Meta), LinkedIn, Twitter and WhatsApp (Meta). Your data may also be transferred to the personal devices of those carrying work out on behalf of St Barnabas Bethnal Green.

Given the continuous nature of church membership, we will keep your data on file unless otherwise requested.

Marketing

We do not market on behalf of third parties. If you register for our weekly newsletter, we may send you information about our events, as well as those organised by other community groups. This specifically includes:

  • St Barnabas Bethnal Green

  • The Diocese of Stepney and the Cathedral of St Paul’s

  • Chisenhale Primary School and Olga Primary School

  • Other likeminded organisations, as applicable

If you have agreed to receive our weekly newsletter, you may always opt out at a later date.

You have the right at any time to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes. Your data will not be shared with third parties except with explicit consent.

If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please email us at church.wardens@stbarnabasbethnalgreen.org.

What are your data protection rights?

We would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:

The right to access – You have the right to request our association for copies of your personal data.

The right to rectification – You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request us to complete the information you believe is incomplete.

The right to erasure – You have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to data portability – You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at our email: church.wardens@stbarnabasbethnalgreen.org or in writing to:

Data Protection Request
St Barnabas Bethnal Green
Grove Road
London E3 5TG

The request must contain your name; postal address; the right you are exercising; the activity, event or service that the data relates to; any supporting information that will help us identify the data such as when and how you provided it.

Cookies

Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behaviour information. When you visit our websites, we may collect information from you automatically through cookies or similar technology.

For further information, visit allaboutcookies.org.

How do we use cookies?

We, via our service provider Squarespace, use cookies in a range of ways to improve your experience on our website, including:

  • Keeping you signed in

  • Understanding how you use our website

What types of cookies do we use?

There are a number of different types of cookies. To learn more about the cookies used by Squarespace, our website provider, please visit their site.

How to manage cookies

You can set your browser not to accept cookies, and the above website tells you how to remove cookies from your browser. However, in a few cases, some of our website features may not function as a result.

Privacy policies of other websites

Our website contains links to other websites. Our privacy policy applies only to our website, so if you click on a link to another website, you should read their privacy policy.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review. This privacy policy was last updated on 13 October 2023.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about our privacy policy, the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Email us at: church.wardens@stbarnabasbethnalgreen.org

How to contact the appropriate authority

Should you wish to report a complaint or if you feel that we have not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.