Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy of St. Peter’s Edina

At St. Peter’s Edina, we value your spiritual growth and want to support you. This Privacy Policy outlines how St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Edina, Hennepin County, Minnesota (the “Church”) and our Early Childhood Education Center (the “ECEC”) collect, use, and share your information. Whether you are interacting with us as part of our church or ECEC community, your privacy is important to us.

To help you navigate through the policy, 10 sections are outlined below:


Navigation
1. Information We Collect
2. How We Use Your Information
3. How We Share Your Information
4. Cookies and Similar Technologies
5. Your Choices
6. Children’s Information
7. Data Security
8. Third Party Links, Programs and Services
9. Changes to this Privacy Policy
10. Contact Us

1. Information We Collect

a. Information You or Others Provide to Us

We collect information when you interact with us in person, offline, through this website, by telephone, email, mail or your mobile device. We also receive information when you support us through donations, or participate in our programs or services. We also may receive information from other organizations we work with, or when you follow, connect or interact with us through social media.

The information provided to us depends on the context of your interactions with us and may include:  

  • Contact information, such as name, address, phone number and email address

  • Information about or from your interactions with our website, including information you post

  • Donation information

  • Family information

  • Demographic information

  • Survey responses

  • Information from social media

  • Any other information you provide to us

b. Information Collected for Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC)
When you interact with our Early Childhood Education Center, we may collect additional information specific to our early education services. This may include:

  • Parent or guardian identifiers (name, email, phone number)

  • Child identifiers (name, date of birth)

This data helps us communicate about our programs, facilitate tours, and appropriately place children in classrooms. Information collected through ECEC-related inquiries will be retained until it is no longer needed or you request its deletion.

c. Information We Collect Automatically

We collect a variety of information automatically. For example, we use “cookies” on your device which help us recognize you when you visit our website, or interact with advertising or emails.  A cookie is a small piece of information placed on your device that identifies you.  We may also allow other parties to place cookies on your device when you visit us online.  For more information about cookies and similar technologies, please go to Section 5, titled “Cookies and Similar Technologies.” Not all information collected in this way can be used to identify you.

We may also collect your location via the geo-location tracking capability of your device, if you have that capability enabled.

2. How We Use Your Information

a. Church-Specific Usage

  • Conduct Church activities (for instance, to minister to you);

  • Communicate with you about the Church or our services;

  • Communicate with you about events or services for you or your family;

  • Facilitate your donations;

  • Verify your identity (online or offline);

  • Protect Church members; 

  • Improve any service we offer; 

  • Investigate, prevent, or take action regarding unlawful or harmful activities; 

  • For statistical purposes such as identifying donation or attendance trends;

  • Recognize you online;

  • Analyze usage;

  • Facilitate any other purpose, or use, for which you provided the information or you otherwise agree to;

  • Match the information with other information about you, for example in databases of our partners;

  • Create aggregated, anonymized or de-identified information, which we may use and disclose without restriction (for instance, for analysis, research or marketing purposes). 

b. ECEC-Specific Usage
In addition to the privacy practices mentioned above, our Early Childhood Education Center follows specific guidelines to protect the privacy of minors. We handle children's personal information with the utmost care, maintaining strict confidentiality at all times. Information collected from parents and guardians is strictly used for the following purposes:

  • Schedule and confirm tours of our Early Childhood Education Center

  • Communicate important updates about our early childhood programs

  • Manage enrollment and registration for the ECEC

  • Communicate with parents and/or guardians of students

3. How We Share Your Information

More specifically, we share and disclose your information in the following situations: 

  • To a variety of service providers who help us run our Church as well as our Early Childhood Center (i.e, Planning Center Online, MailChimp, RightNow Media, Tadpoles), solicit donations, recruit members and provide services. Service providers also help with billing, website management, email services, advertising and marketing, and other functions. Any of the information described in this Policy above may be shared with service providers;

  • With trusted partners who wish to conduct statistical or administrative analysis to improve their services, or match you with services or products (i.e, LCMS, Survey Monkey)

  • With other organizations with which we may co-sponsor or co-market a program, service, or event; 

  • To help us detect and address fraud, credit risk, security or technical issues;

  • Without restriction when the information is aggregated, anonymized or de-identified; 

  • When we believe that sharing is necessary to take action regarding possible unlawful activities or to comply with legal process or other legal requirements;

  • If the Church merges or combines with another church, we will share information with them;

  • In situations involving potential threats to the safety or rights of the Church, ECEC, or any person or organization, for example with law enforcement agencies;

  • In any other circumstances where we have your permission or are otherwise permitted by law to share it.

4. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We and third parties use automated means to collect information about you and your device, when you interact with our website or emails. These automated means include technologies such as cookies, Web server logs, Web beacons and JavaScript, as well as functionality that can collect data from a mobile device. 

Cookies: Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device by websites you visit. They help improve user experience by remembering your preferences, login details, and interactions. Cookies can also collect data to analyze website traffic and user behavior. You may be able to control or disable cookies through your browser settings, but note that some features of our website may not function properly without them.

Web Beacons or Pixels: We use third-party providers, such as MailChimp, to send emails. These emails may include tracking technologies (such as web beacons or pixels) that allow us to collect data on email engagement, for instance, whether an email was opened or links were clicked.

Do Not Track Signals: Like most websites, we do not respond to do not track signals.  

5. Your Choices

Accessing Your Information. You may have a right to request that we give you access to your information, delete or modify your information, or opt out of having your information shared. You may exercise the rights by contacting us using the information provided in this policy. We do our best to consider all requests of this nature, even if we are not legally required to do so. 

Other Opt-Out Choices.  We may provide you additional choices regarding our communications with you. For instance, if we send you emails about the Church and our events, we provide you a way to opt out or unsubscribe from those emails.  You may also change or remove your information from your database by contacting the Church using the information below.

6. Children’s Information

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 13 years of age. If we learn that personal information from users less than 13 years of age has been collected, we may immediately take measures to delete such data from our records. If you believe we might have any information from or about your children or any other child under 13, please contact us using the information below. 

7. Data Security  

We understand and respect the importance of securing the data we collect, whether from Church members or participants in our ECEC.. Nonetheless, no organization can provide complete assurances that its security measures will avoid all risks or breaches. In the event of a breach, we may contact you using any means available to us.

8. Third Party Links, Programs and Services

Our website may contain links to third party websites or services. When you interact with these websites or services, those parties’ privacy policies – not ours – will apply. Likewise, if you provide information to third parties at events, that information will be handled pursuant to their – not our – policies. We are not responsible for the content, security or practices of any third parties.  We do not vet, endorse or make any representations about third parties or their websites, applications or services. 

9. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Revised” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. Your continued use of this website after we make changes is acceptance of those changes, so we encourage you to review this privacy policy frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information. We may also notify you of material changes via email or through a notice on the website. 

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or about how we use your information, please contact us at: webmaster@stpetersedina.org

Last modified: September 20, 2024