Privacy Policy

                                         Privacy Policy St Mary's Church Rickinghall 

                                                         Last updated: April 2026

St Mary's Church Rickinghall (also referred to as “we”, “us” or “the Church”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect any personal information you provide when using our website www.stmarysrickinghall.com.

We may collect the following information:

• Contact details — such as your name, email address, phone number, or postal address when you fill in a contact form, sign up for our newsletter, or get in touch with us.
• Usage information — such as which pages you visit on our website (via cookies or similar technologies).
• Special category data — in limited cases (for example, if you share information about your faith, health needs for pastoral care, or other sensitive details when requesting prayer or support). We only process this with your explicit consent or where it is necessary for our legitimate church activities.

              We do not collect more information than we need.

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiries or messages sent via the website.
• To keep you informed about church services, events, news, and activities (only if you have agreed to receive updates).
• To provide pastoral care or support where requested.
• To maintain records of church membership, attendance, or volunteering (where applicable).
• To improve our website and understand how people use it.
• To comply with any legal obligations.

We process your personal data under the UK GDPR because:

• It is necessary for our legitimate interests as a church (e.g. communicating with the community).
• You have given us your consent (e.g. for newsletters or sensitive data).
• It is necessary for carrying out tasks in the public interest or for our charitable/religious purposes.

We will never sell your data. Your information may be shared only with:

• Trusted volunteers or staff within the church who need it to respond to you.
• The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich (where required for diocesan records).
• Third-party service providers (such as our email newsletter provider or website host) who help us run the church safely and legally. All such providers are required to keep your data secure.

We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes listed above, or as required by law. You can ask us to delete or update your information at any time.

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate data.
• Request that we delete your data (in certain circumstances).
• Object to how we process your data.
• Withdraw your consent at any time (where we rely on consent).

          To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details below.

Our website may use basic cookies to remember your preferences or analyse how the site is used. You can control cookies through your browser settings. We do not use cookies for targeted advertising.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us:

Address: St Mary's Church Rickinghall, Bury Road, Rickinghall, Suffolk, IP22 1HA 

Email: admin@stmarysrickinghall.com 

You also have the right to complain to the UK supervisory authority: Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – www.ico.org.uk

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.