What Is ChurchSuite?

ChurchSuite is a church management software package that the Parish of St Erconwald's uses to administer parish records electronically.

What is 'My ChurchSuite'?

‘My ChurchSuite’ is the parishioner-facing, confidential view of ChurchSuite. It allows people to manage their own details (including those of their own children), sign up for events, join small groups and see rotas (if these are maintained on ChurchSuite). Login information for ‘My ChurchSuite’ is sent to parishioners once they have registered on ChurchSuite. 
​
‘My ChurchSuite’ is designed to be an engagement tool to supplement what we already do and is not meant to be a replacement.  For example, we may encourage people to sign up for events using ‘My ChurchSuite’ in the first instance; but for those who may not have access we will provide an alternative such as a sign-up sheet.

How DOES USING ChurchSuite Benefit Our Parish?

It allows us to:

• LIVE OUT OUR MISSION! By having information about you it helps us to understand how we can best serve our community.
• WORK SMARTER – have the parish records available electronically so they can be used proactively by the priest and PPC to produce statistics and analyse trends.
• ACT MORE PROFESSIONALLY – comply with GDPR data regulations and ensure we adopt best practice to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.
• SAVE TIME – parishioners can register their own information, avoiding the need for our parish secretary to input data manually. It makes planning easier for group organisers, including recording attendance.
• RUN BETTER SERVICES AND PROGRAMMES – as and when we use it for rotas, it will enable these to be standardised; all the activities around events (including Mass, Ministries and Sacramental programmes) will be in one place – this will help planning and communication.
• PROTECT YOUR DATA – provide a platform that will help us maintain privacy in a way that shows we value data protection, always using people’s details responsibly and with their consent.
• COMMUNICATE – provide information about upcoming events via the ChurchSuite calendar; distribute rotas; send targeted emails if needed.

How Will ChurchSuite Be Used By Our Parish?

• PARISH RECORDS – maintenance in a GDPR-compliant way (replacing current manual forms).
• ​ONLINE SIGNUPS – signups and registration to events and sacramental programmes.
• BOOKINGS – online management of meeting room and parish hall bookings.
• CALENDAR – online parish calendar covering all services, events and activities.
• ROTAS – in time we will use it to help organise rotas for various parish activities.
  

Is It Compulsory To Register My Details On ChurchSuite?

• No – it is entirely up to you.
• If you are active in the parish it would be helpful if you are registered so that you can be easily and securely added to rotas or included in small groups.
• For census purposes it would be useful to have some basic information about you, e.g. just your name.
• We may send targeted emails via ChurchSuite so you may miss some information if you do not provide your email. However we will always endeavour to communicate via other means as well e.g. announcements at Masses and services, via the weekly newsletter and via the parish website.
• We do require you to register your family if you wish to take part in our sacramental programmes such as Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation.  If you have concerns about this, please talk to Fr Ruslan.

Why Do You Need to Collect Information About Me?

• To enable us to comply with our statutory obligations and to achieve our charitable objectives of advancing and maintaining the Roman Catholic religion through the operation of our parish.
• To collect census records about our parish for the Diocese.
• To enable the Priest to get hold of you in an emergency.
• To provide a central and secure record of all parents and children taking part in our sacramental programmes.
• To help administer activities and ministries run by the parish.

What Information Will Be Held About Me?

• When you register we ask you to enter your name and postcode. We need your postcode as an indication that you live locally.  We understand that this may not always the case eg for those who ‘attend’ Mass virtually via our live-stream. 
• Almost all other information is optional and includes contact information such as your home address, email and (mobile) phone number. You need only provide information with which you are comfortable.  We encourage people who are active in ministries and groups in the church to provide at least one means of communication and to make it visible so that others within the group/ministry can contact them eg to send a rota swap request.
• We ask about your interests in volunteering - our parish is almost entirely run by volunteers, and without support we cannot undertake activities to help us in our mission.
  
• We ask about your skills as it is useful to know what skillset we have amongst our parishioners. This is optional.
• You can upload a recent photo if you wish. This can be an aid to recognition for Fr Ruslan.  This is optional.

Will My Data Be Safe?

• St Erconwald's adheres to the Data Protection Policy Procedures as set out by the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton Diocesan Guidance & Policies
• St Erconwald's adheres to the Privacy Notice as set out by the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton Privacy Policy.
• Administrator access to ChurchSuite is password-protected and requires multi-factor authentication and is limited to Fr Ruslan, the parish office, our treasurer and the Chair of our PPC.
• ChurchSuite holds all our data securely using UK data centres. Data is backed up daily and protected by 24/7 physical security access control, fire suppression and redundant power failure systems. Full details of ChurchSuite’s security measures can be found here.

Who Can See My Data?

There are three levels:

1. INDIVIDUAL (MY CHURCHSUITE) – you will be provided with access to your own data via ‘My ChurchSuite’ where you can edit your records and control your privacy settings. Details of how to log into ‘My ChurchSuite’ will be emailed to you after the registration process is completed.
2. ADMINISTRATOR – access to the full ChurchSuite database for administrators is password-protected with multi-factor authentication and is limited to our priest, Fr Ruslan Kurdiumov ([email protected]), our parish secretary, our parish treasurer and our ChurchSuite Lead, Lucy Jardine.

​ChurchSuite is GDPR-compliant and you will have control over your privacy settings.

* Most of the content of ChurchSuite does not involve people being able to view one another’s contact details; instead, the content is personal to the individual who is logged in, showing information as it relates to them.

Where Will My Data Be Held?

• Your data will be held securely and remotely on a central database administered professionally by ChurchSuite (https://churchsuite.com). No data will be held locally on individuals’ personal computers or devices. This helps us enormously with data security.

Can My Child Register?

• Children (under 18) should be registered by their parents/carers’ as part of their family’s registration using the ‘Add Child’ option. You need only record their name and specify whether you give photo/video consent.  It is helpful if you include date of birth and sex.
• Children in the family over 18 years of age should register independently as an adult.
• Any communication via ChurchSuite regarding children will be sent to their parents/carers.
• All children taking part in sacramental programmes at St Erconwald's must be registered.

Photo/Video Consent

• You can upload a recent photo to ChurchSuite if you wish. This can be an aid to recognition for Fr Ruslan.  This is optional.
• You can choose to give consent for photos of your children to be included on the parish website and other materials. Please note that we will never identify any photos with names.

How Do I Register?

Go to the registration page on the parish website https://www.sterconwalds.org.uk/parish-registration and fill in the online form.

I Am Not Able To Use The Internet. Can I Still Register?

If you are struggling to register, please contact our parish secretary who will be able to assist you.

What If I Don't Have an Email Address?

You can still register so that our census information is comprehensive.  Without an email address you will not be able to log in to ‘My ChurchSuite’. We will always ensure that there is an alternative way of updating your own data or receiving information from the church.  ‘My ChurchSuite’ is designed to be an engagement tool to supplement what we already do.  ​For example, we may encourage people to sign up for events using ‘My ChurchSuite’ in the first instance; but for those who may not have access we will provide an alternative such as a sign-up sheet. ‘

What If We Only Have A Shared Email Address?

Families who share an email address can still use ‘My ChurchSuite’. Each family member is sent a ‘My ChurchSuite’ email invitation from their contact profile page as usual. The email is personalised, so each family member can identify their invite. Each invite has a unique login link so that each family member can set their password, which must be different to that of other family members. In this way, ‘My ChurchSuite’ can correctly identify which family member is logging in.

I Don't Like Change - Why Can't We Stick With The Paper Systems We Used to Use?

• You still can!
• We still have a paper registration form available that our parish secretary will use to add your information to our online database.
• We do now have access to powerful electronic systems for the storage of data and we would like to benefit from these.
• Leaders of groups and Ministries currently maintain their own lists on paper or on their own computers. This is less secure than the centralised system provided by ChurchSuite.

How Often Will The Data Get Updated?

You can update your own data at any point if you need to make changes. We will invite you to review your data via ‘My ChurchSuite’ at least once a year to ensure that it is up to date.  Obsolete data will be removed after seven years. ​

Who ShOuld I Contact If I Have Questions About ChurchSuite?

Please talk to Fr Ruslan or Contact us