Privacy Notice
Data Protection Principles
The North Belfast Circuit of the Methodist Church in Ireland complies with the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) as implemented in May 2018. We aim to ensure that, when processing
information belonging to individuals, we will use that data lawfully, fairly and transparently; for
limited purposes, and; we will request only the data that is relevant and necessary. We will
endeavour to ensure such data is accurate; not kept forever, and; kept secure and confidential.
Training in data protection is recommended for all our staff and volunteers who store and/or use
people’s information. We will post this Privacy Notice in our buildings, official publications. We will
review this policy every three years.
Your Rights
You have data protection rights that you can exercise over the information you give us. These rights
include: to be informed how your data is being used; to have access to the information we hold
about you; to have inaccuracies corrected; to have your information erased; to object to or restrict
the ways we process your information; to not be subject to decisions made by automated
processing including profiling, and; data portability (to receive your digital information in a useful
format). There may be some legal restrictions on these rights, which we will explain as appropriate.
If you feel your rights haven’t been upheld please contact us in the first instance, or you can
communicate with the Methodist Church in Ireland (Secretary of Conference) at 1 Fountainville
Avenue, Belfast BT9 6AN; Phone: (028) 9032 4554; E-mail: secretary@irishmethodist.org.
information belonging to individuals, we will use that data lawfully, fairly and transparently; for
limited purposes, and; we will request only the data that is relevant and necessary. We will
endeavour to ensure such data is accurate; not kept forever, and; kept secure and confidential.
Training in data protection is recommended for all our staff and volunteers who store and/or use
people’s information. We will post this Privacy Notice in our buildings, official publications. We will
review this policy every three years.
Our Contact Details
If you need to get in touch with us please contact:
The Superintendent Minister , Rev Alan Lorimer
Address: 3 Briar Court , Newtownabbey.BT37 0FW
Phone: 07717496686
E-mail: alanlorimer.al@gmail.com
Your Data
We may record and process some or all of the following personal information about you:
• contact details (address, phone numbers, e-mail address)
• date of birth
• photographs/video recordings
• financial giving to the church
• religious beliefs
• health and medication
We use this data so that we might:
• encourage you in your discipleship and provide pastoral care to you as part of the church
family, eg by visiting at your home, calling your telephone, or sending a text message or e-
mail
• keep you informed about life in the church family, eg by sending you occasional notices by
post, e-mail or text message, including information about the Methodist Church in Ireland
• process your involvement in activities of the church family, including groups that meet
regularly as well as residential and other special trips
• encourage you to give money to the church for our ongoing mission and property
maintenance, in addition to funds of the Methodist Church in Ireland that support: mission
in Ireland (Methodist Home Mission) and overseas (World Mission Partnership); children in
poverty (Child Care Society), and; overseas aid (World Development and Relief)
• facilitate the organisation of the church and circuit, eg by creating rotas or following
Methodist Church in Ireland directives
• operate a Whatsapp messaging service to inform about training events
• share information from church registers to archivists and historians
• Operate a prayer chain via sms messaging
• Operate a web site to inform people of church events, services and organisations
Legal Basis for Processing
Our legal bases for processing your data are usually ‘legitimate interests’ (for activities related to the
everyday functioning of the church) [GDPR Article 6.1(f)] and ‘consent’ (for everything else) [Article
6.1(a)]. In a small number of instances we rely on ‘contract’ (for example, if we are your employer)
and ‘legal obligation’ (for example, in relation to safeguarding issues).
When using ‘legitimate interests’ as the legal basis for using the information you have given us we
will ensure it is for a genuine purpose, necessary for the smooth running of the church family, and
not invasive to your privacy. For all other purposes we will ask for your positive consent before
processing your details.
We are able to process ‘special categories of personal data’ (such as your health or religious beliefs)
in the course of our legitimate activities because we are a not-for-profit body with a religious aim
relating to you as a member, former member, or person with whom we have regular contact [Article
9.2(d)].
Sharing Your Data
Only people appointed to specific roles within the circuit (for example, ministers and lay staff,
pastoral visitors, society/circuit stewards, preachers, membership secretaries, leaders of
organisations ) can access your details, and what they can see is limited to what they need in order
to carry out their role.
If you are appointed to a specific role within the life of the church and/or circuit we may publish your
details (eg in announcement sheets, annual reports or our web presence) or share them directly so
members and other relevant individuals/organisations can contact you. This will cease when you
step down from the role.
We occasionally post photographs and/or video taken at church events on our Facebook page.
If you donate money to us using the UK Gift Aid scheme we will send details of those gifts to HMRC.
We will not share your information with any other third parties without your permission unless we
have a legal obligation to do so. However, we may need to share your details within the Methodist
Church in Ireland, as follows:
• to comply with our Safeguarding policy when you volunteer with children and vulnerable
adults.
• if your role within the Circuit means you need to receive specific information related to that
role.
• to process Gift Aid tax refunds through the Trustees of the Methodist Church in Ireland.
Security and Retention
We use Microsoft Office 365 cloud services for digital files, which have integrated
appropriate security measures to keep your data safe, including instances where their
servers are located outside of the EEA.
• To prevent unauthorised disclosure of your information, our paper-based records are kept in
a locked cabinet/safe when not in use. Electronic and portable memory devices are
protected by passwords or equivalent security measures. Membership software and digital
documents containing personal data are either encrypted or password-protected.
• Other than our permanent records (like Membership, Baptism and Marriage Registers, or
Church Council/Circuit Executive minutes) or details that need to be kept for legal
compliance (such as Safeguarding notes or Gift Aid declarations), we will remove your
information from our systems no less than six years after your last personal contact with us
(or after you turn eighteen years old if you are a minor).
• One-off consent forms (such as for annual group membership or booking for trips etc) will
be destroyed/erased one year after their use.
Subject access Request
You have the right to ensure our use of your data is lawful, and that the data we hold is accurate. If
you would like to access the data we process about you, please write to us at:
Rev Alan Lorimer
3 Briar Court
Newtownabbey
BT37 0FW
or e-mail: alanlorimer.al@gmil.com
In order to locate the information you are requesting and to ensure proof of your identity, please
send us:
• Your name (including any names by which you used to be known) and Date of Birth
• Address (incl postcode), e-mail address(es), telephone number(s)
• Two pieces of identification that between them clearly show your name, date of birth and
current address (eg passport, photocard driving license, birth certificate, recent bank
statement/utility bill)
In response, and within one month at the latest, we will send to you:
• The personal data we hold on record for you
• The types of processing we do with your data
• The people/groups with whom your data will have been shared (or will be in the future)
• Our intentions regarding how long we might store your data
• OR our reasons for not providing your data
We will not charge for this service unless you make multiple requests within a short space of time.
Further information
You can learn about Data Protection principles, your rights, and more – including making a complaint
about our handling of your data – from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in Northern
Ireland [visit http://www.ico.org.uk, call 0303 123 1113 or write to the Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF] and the Data Protection Commissioner
(DPC) in the Republic of Ireland [visit http://www.dataprotection.ie, call (0761) 104 800 or write to The
Data Protection Commissioner, Canal House, Station Road, Portarlington, Co. Laois R32 AP23].
Guidance for Methodist churches is available at http://www.irishmethodist.org/data-protection-resources