Privacy Notice.

Who we are

The Way Fellowship is an independent Christian home fellowship in Kibworth, Leicestershire. We are responsible for deciding how personal information is used for our activities.

For privacy questions, corrections, deletion requests or permissions, email thewaykibworth@gmail.com.

What information we collect

Website and email enquiries: your name, email address, message subject, message and any details you choose to provide.

Event registrations: adult names and contact details, children's names and ages, parent or guardian contact details, and the choices made on forms, including permission for photographs or video and an optional newsletter opt-in. We collect the details needed for the particular event.

Newsletter interest: email addresses and opt-in choices from people who tick the optional newsletter box on our forms. We do not currently send a newsletter; we are collecting permission for possible future fellowship updates.

Photographs and videos: permission choices recorded through event forms and, where agreed, images or recordings taken or used for The Way's activities and publicity. For children, the relevant parent or guardian's permission is sought.

Prayer and pastoral requests: details people choose to submit through our dedicated Tally prayer form or share directly with the leadership team. Such requests may include personal, religious or health information, which we treat with particular care.

Website technical information: our hosting and embedded-content providers may handle technical data, such as IP addresses and browser information, required to provide or protect their services.

Please do not include sensitive information about someone else without their permission. For urgent safeguarding concerns, contact the fellowship directly rather than using the general website form.

How and why we use information

• General enquiries: to reply and follow up appropriately. Our usual UK GDPR lawful basis is legitimate interests in responding to people who contact us.
• Event administration: to organise gatherings, manage attendance, contact participants or guardians, and honour form choices. Our usual lawful basis for routine administration is legitimate interests in running fellowship activities.
• Newsletter opt-ins: to record whether someone wants future email updates. If we begin sending newsletters, we will rely on consent, use only opted-in addresses and include an unsubscribe instruction in every email. Attending an event does not automatically subscribe anyone.
• Photographs and videos: to take and use images in ways covered by the permission given. We respect photo/video consent choices and requests to withdraw permission, subject to any lawful exceptions and the practical limits of recalling material already distributed.
• Prayer and pastoral support: to receive and respond to requests for prayer and care. Our usual basis for routine handling is legitimate interests in providing requested fellowship support. Religious beliefs or health details may also be special-category information and require an additional UK GDPR condition; see the safeguarding note below.
• Safeguarding: to respond appropriately to concerns about the safety or welfare of children and adults and, where needed, to pass concerns to suitable safeguarding professionals or statutory authorities on an appropriate legal basis.

We do not use the website contact form to sign people up to a newsletter. We do not sell people's personal information.

Prayer and pastoral requests can include health, religious-belief or other sensitive information. In addition to a UK GDPR Article 6 basis, we need an Article 9 condition for such information. For the information of members and people in regular contact with our fellowship, the religious not-for-profit condition may apply when its safeguards are met. For other requests, we may seek explicit consent where appropriate. We limit access to leadership and do not share identifiable requests beyond the fellowship without the person’s permission, except where another lawful basis or safeguarding obligation permits or requires disclosure.

Who can access or receive information

Website contact enquiries: Kyra and Sus manage messages sent through the website and fellowship email. The relevant service providers may also process the information to deliver and store messages.

Prayer requests: requests submitted through Tally are transferred to a restricted Google Sheet and the leadership team's Slack workspace. Only the leadership team — Kyra, Sus and Danny — is intended to have access to those prayer channels and records. Slack notifications do not include submitters' contact details, although the wording of a prayer request may still contain identifying or sensitive information.

Prayer requests are for the leadership team to handle. We will ask permission before sharing an identifiable prayer request with a prayer group or the wider fellowship, except where sharing is necessary for safety or another lawful reason. Requests are not automatically circulated to the wider fellowship.

Event and newsletter records: these may be held in Tally, Google Sheets and Gmail, with access limited to people who need the details for organising the relevant activity. Event information and photograph permissions are not used as newsletter consent unless the separate optional box was selected.

Safeguarding: Kyra, Sus and Danny oversee safeguarding concerns for The Way. Such information is treated confidentially and shared on a need-to-know basis, including with safeguarding professionals or statutory services when necessary. It is not shared as an ordinary prayer request.

Website and third-party services

Our website is hosted by Netlify, and the contact form uses Netlify Forms. Contact messages may also be received through our Gmail inbox. We use Tally to collect event registrations, newsletter opt-ins, photo/video permissions and prayer requests, and Google Sheets to organise records. Prayer notifications are also sent to a restricted Slack workspace. We may also communicate through WhatsApp.

Our homepage displays an Instagram feed using Behold. Behold says its widgets do not set cookies or store visitors’ personal data; it counts anonymous feed views. The feed loads automatically. If our checks identify non-essential cookies or similar technologies requiring consent, we will add controls before using them.

The website calendar currently shows our regular Sunday gatherings. If we later connect a live Google Calendar or add other embedded services, we will review the privacy implications and update this notice.

Our service providers may process some information outside the UK. We review their data-protection terms and use relevant UK transfer safeguards where required. If you have a question about where your information is held, please email us.

How long we keep information

Our agreed retention periods are below. We may keep information for longer when required by law, for an unresolved concern, an incident, or another justified reason. We review our records and delete or anonymise information when no longer needed.

• Ordinary contact enquiries: while being dealt with and then six months after resolution.
• Routine event registrations: usually three months after the event. A separate record of photo/video permission can be kept for as long as we continue to use the relevant images.
• Any event medical or allergy details, if collected for a future event: normally no more than 30 days after the event, unless an incident or other lawful reason justifies longer retention.
• Routine private prayer requests: generally three months after the request or pastoral follow-up has been resolved, unless ongoing care or another justified reason applies. This includes any relevant copies held in Tally, Google Sheets and Slack.
• Newsletter opt-ins: while someone remains opted in, or until they withdraw consent. We may retain a minimal suppression or consent record where necessary to respect their choice.
• Photo/video permissions: while the related images are in use, with regular review and removal where appropriate.
• Safeguarding and incident records: held separately with restricted access and a retention period appropriate to the concern and applicable guidance; the ordinary six-month enquiry rule does not apply.

These are agreed retention rules that need to be applied to all relevant services, including email, form submissions, Sheets, Tally and Slack. We may take a little time to remove records from backups maintained by service providers.

Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to access personal information we hold, ask us to correct it, request deletion, restrict processing or receive a copy. You may also object to processing based on legitimate interests and withdraw any consent you've given for newsletter emails or photographs.

You can object to our use of your information based on legitimate interests. We will consider your request in accordance with the law. Withdrawing consent does not undo any use that was lawful before it was withdrawn.

We have not set up automated decisions about people or profiling as part of these fellowship processes.

You can contact us at thewaykibworth@gmail.com. You also have the right to raise concerns with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Questions, permissions or unsubscribing

If you'd like to change a permission, request information about yourself, or ask us to stop using your details, please email us.

Newsletter update: we are not sending a newsletter yet. When we start, every newsletter will explain that recipients can reply UNSUBSCRIBE to stop future emails. You may also withdraw your opt-in now by emailing us.

Safeguarding: if you need to raise a safeguarding concern, email us directly and mark the subject Safeguarding — confidential. Kyra, Sus and Danny are the fellowship's safeguarding contacts. In an emergency, contact the appropriate emergency service.

Email The Way Fellowship ↗

We review this notice when our activities, service providers or website change.