Sunderland Elim Pentecostal Church

Sunderland Elim Church

Privacy Notice

This notice explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you have under data protection law.

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Updated 30/06/2026 Download DOCX version

Purpose of this privacy notice

The purpose of this privacy notice is to explain what personal information we collect about you and how we process it. This privacy notice also explains your rights, so please read it carefully. If you have any questions, you can contact us using the information provided above.

Who this privacy notice applies to

This privacy notice applies to you if you interact with Sunderland Elim Church. This includes:

  • church members, regular attenders, visitors and enquirers;
  • parents, carers, children and young people who attend church activities;
  • users, volunteers and supporters of our foodbank, toddler group or community activities;
  • donors, Gift Aid donors, employees, workers, volunteers and applicants;
  • people who contact us through our website, email, phone, social media or in person.

Personal information we collect

We currently collect and process the following personal information where relevant to our church activities:

  • name, address, email address, telephone number and other contact details;
  • details of your connection with the church, including membership, attendance, volunteering, groups or activities;
  • information you give when asking for pastoral care, prayer, practical support or foodbank support;
  • information about children and young people, including parent/carer details, consent forms, emergency contacts and relevant health or medical information;
  • financial information where needed for donations, Gift Aid, payments, payroll, expenses or accounting;
  • employment, volunteer, recruitment, training, DBS and safeguarding information;
  • photographs, video or livestream images where appropriate;
  • correspondence, complaints, enquiries and records of contact with us;
  • technical information when you use our website or online services, such as website form submissions, IP address, device/browser information and cookie-related data where applicable.

Some of the information we process may be special-category personal data. This may include information revealing religious belief, church membership or involvement, pastoral circumstances, health, disability, safeguarding concerns, vulnerability or support needs. We will only process this information where necessary and where we have a lawful basis and an appropriate special-category condition under data protection law.

How we get the personal information

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:

  • you attend a service, event, group or activity;
  • you complete a contact form, consent form, Gift Aid declaration, volunteer form or other church form;
  • you contact us by email, phone, website, social media or in person;
  • you ask for pastoral care, prayer, practical help or foodbank support;
  • you make a donation, give financially or claim expenses;
  • you apply for employment, volunteering or church involvement.

We also receive personal information indirectly from the following sources in the following scenarios:

  • parents, carers, family members or emergency contacts, where they provide relevant information;
  • other churches, Elim leaders, ministers or pastoral contacts, where appropriate;
  • foodbank referral agencies, support organisations or partner agencies, where needed to provide support;
  • statutory authorities, emergency services, safeguarding agencies or professional advisers where required;
  • DBS, recruitment, training, payroll, banking, accounting, Gift Aid and HMRC systems where applicable;
  • IT, email, website, online giving, social media and church administration platforms where you interact with us through those services.

What we do with your personal information

We use the personal information that you have given us in order to:

  • provide church services, pastoral care, prayer, discipleship and spiritual support;
  • maintain records of members, regular attenders, volunteers and church involvement;
  • communicate with you about church life, services, events, groups, news and activities;
  • provide children's work, youth work, toddler group, foodbank and community support;
  • safeguard children, young people and adults at risk;
  • recruit, support, train and manage employees and volunteers;
  • process donations, Gift Aid, payments, expenses, payroll, accounts and financial records;
  • manage church premises, security, insurance, governance and administration;
  • respond to enquiries, requests, complaints or concerns;
  • promote the charitable purposes and activities of Sunderland Elim Church and the wider Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance.

Sharing your personal information

We will treat your personal information carefully and confidentially. We may share personal information where there is a proper reason to do so, including with:

  • Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance, Elim's national departments, regional or denominational leaders where appropriate;
  • Elim's Data Protection Officer and safeguarding team;
  • banks, payment providers, Gift Aid processors and HMRC;
  • payroll, accounting, insurance, legal or professional advisers;
  • DBS, recruitment, training or safeguarding bodies;
  • statutory authorities, emergency services or safeguarding agencies where required;
  • foodbank referral agencies and support partners where needed to provide support;
  • IT, website, email, cloud storage, online giving, social media, livestream and church administration service providers.

We will not sell your personal information. We will not share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Our lawful basis

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

  • Your consent - where you have given clear permission for a specific purpose, such as optional communications or certain uses of photographs or video.
  • Contractual obligation - where processing is necessary in connection with a contract, such as employment, paid services, room hire or supplier arrangements.
  • Legal obligation - where we need to comply with the law, such as employment law, charity law, accounting requirements, HMRC requirements, safeguarding duties or health and safety obligations.
  • Vital interests - where processing is necessary to protect someone's life or physical safety in an emergency.
  • Public task - where this applies to a specific task carried out in the public interest and set out in law.
  • Legitimate interests - where processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of the church or the wider Elim charity and those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include ordinary church administration, pastoral care, member and volunteer records, running church activities, maintaining security, responding to enquiries, communicating with people connected with the church, fundraising and promoting the charity's interests where appropriate.

Where we process special-category personal data, we will also rely on a relevant special-category condition under UK data protection law. This may include processing carried out by a not-for-profit body with a religious aim in relation to its members, former members or people who have regular contact with it, explicit consent, employment and social protection obligations, vital interests, safeguarding, or substantial public interest where applicable.

How we store your personal information and how long we keep it

Your information is securely stored in church premises and in password-protected electronic systems, including email, cloud storage, finance, website, online giving, safeguarding and church administration systems where applicable.

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including to meet legal, safeguarding, accounting, insurance and charity requirements. Examples include:

  • membership, attendance and pastoral records are kept while you have an active relationship with the church and then reviewed;
  • Gift Aid, donation and financial records are kept in line with HMRC and accounting requirements;
  • safeguarding records are kept in line with Elim safeguarding policy and legal guidance;
  • employee and volunteer records are kept in line with employment, safeguarding and charity requirements;
  • general enquiries are kept only as long as needed to respond and manage any follow-up;
  • website and communication records are kept according to the purpose for which they were collected and the systems used.

When personal information is no longer needed, we will delete it securely from electronic systems or dispose of paper records safely, for example by confidential shredding.

International Transfers

Some of the systems or service providers we use may process or store personal information outside the UK. Where this happens, we will take reasonable steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place in accordance with UK data protection law.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

  • Your right to be informed - You have the right to know what personal information we have about you, how we use it, for what purpose and in accordance with which lawful basis, who we share it with and how long we keep it. We use our privacy notice to explain this.
  • Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
  • Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
  • Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to object to processing - You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
  • Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
  • Your right not to be subject to automated decision-making. We do not use automated decision-making that has legal or similarly significant effects.

Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of anything we have already done based on your consent before it was withdrawn.

You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we normally have one month to respond to you.

Please contact us using the details at the top of this privacy notice if you wish to make a request.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us using the contact details at the top of this privacy notice. We will acknowledge data protection complaints within 30 days, take appropriate steps to respond without undue delay, keep you informed, and tell you the outcome.

You can also complain to the ICO if you are unhappy with how we have used your data. The ICO's contact details are:

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

ICO website: https://www.ico.org.uk