Privacy Policy

We have created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm and continuing commitment to the privacy of personal information provided by those visiting and interacting with this website. We hold the privacy of your personal information in the highest regard. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for this website.

We recognize the importance of protecting your privacy and our policy is designed to assist you in understanding how we collect, use and safeguard the personal information you provide to us and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our site. This policy will be continuously assessed against new technologies, church and ELCA practices and our parishioners' needs.

What information do we collect?

When you visit this website you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and website use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our website.

1. Personal Information You Choose to Provide

Registration Information
When you register for any of our mailing lists or newsletters you will provide us information about yourself.

Email Information
If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail and telephone.

2. Website Use Information
Similar to other websites, our website utilizes a standard technology called "cookies" (see explanation below, "What Are Cookies?") and web server log files to collect information about how our website is used. Information gathered through cookies and Web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our website, and the websites visited just before and just after our website.

How do we use the information that you provide to us?

Broadly speaking, we use personal information for purposes of administering our business and church activities, providing the services you requested, to monitor the use of the service, our marketing and promotional efforts and improve our content and service offerings, and customize our site's content, layout, services and for other lawful purposes. These uses improve our site and better tailor it to meet your needs.

Furthermore, such information may be shared with others on an aggregate basis. Personally identifiable information or business information will not be shared with parties except as required by law.

Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services, and special event information we think you will find valuable. You may notify us at any time if you do not wish to receive these notifications by emailing us at the link provided on the newsletter.

What are cookies?

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a website, that site's computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies. Each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser's preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a website to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites. Browsers are usually set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you may alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies. If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our site will not function as effectively when viewed by the users. A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive or pass on computer viruses.

How do we use information collected from cookies?

As you visit and browse our website, the site uses cookies to differentiate you from other users. Cookies, in conjunction with our Web server's log files, allow us to calculate the aggregate number of people visiting our website and which parts of the site are most popular. This helps us gather feedback to constantly improve our website and better serve our parishioners. Cookies do not allow us to gather any personal information about you and we do not intentionally store any personal information that your browser provided to us in your cookies.

IP Addresses

IP addresses are used by your computer every time you are connected to the Internet. Your IP address is a number that is used by computers on the network to identify your computer. IP addresses are automatically collected by our web server as part of demographic and profile data known as traffic data so that data (such as the Web pages you request) can be sent to you.

Sharing and Selling Information

We do not share, sell, lend or lease any of the information that uniquely identify a subscriber (such as email addresses or personal details) with anyone except to the extent it is necessary to process transactions or provide services that you have requested.

How can you accedss and correct your information?

You may request access to all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain in our database by emailing us at the usual address.

What about legally compelled disclosure of information?

We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights. We may also disclose account information when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating our Terms of Service or to protect the safety of our users and the Public.

What about other websites linked to/from our website?

We are not responsible for the practices employed by websites linked to or from our website or the information or content contained therein. Often links to other websites are provided solely as pointers to information on topics that may be useful to the users of our website.

Please remember that when you use a link to go from our website to another website, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Your browsing and interaction on any other website, including websites which have a link on our website, is subject to that website's own rules and policies. Please read over those rules and policies before proceeding.

Your Consent

By using our website you consent to our collection and use of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy at any time with or without notice.

Our Commitment to Data Security

Please note that your information will be stored and processed on our computers in the United States. The laws on holding personal data in the United States may be less stringent than the laws of your Country of residence or citizenship. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Choice/Opt-In/Opt-Out

This site allows visitors to unsubscribe so that they will not receive future messages. After unsubscribing we will discontinue sending the particular messages as soon as technically feasible.

Surveys

From time-to-time our website requests information from users via surveys. Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and address), and demographic information (such as zip code, age level). Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.

A Special Note About Children

Children are not eligible to use our website unsupervised and we ask that children under the age of 14 do not submit any personal information to us. If you are a minor, you can use this service only in conjunction with permission and guidance from your parents or guardians.

Acquisition or Changes in Ownership

In the event that the website (or a substantial portion of its assets) is acquired, your information would be considered part of those assets, and may be part of those assets that are transferred.

Policy Modifications

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If/when changes are made to this privacy policy, we will email users who have given us permission to do so. We will post any changes here, so be sure to check back periodically. However, please be assured that if the Privacy Policy changes in the future, we will not use the personal information you have submitted to us under this Privacy Policy in a manner that is materially inconsistent with this Privacy Policy, without your prior consent.