Privacy Policy

Last updated 9 November 2026

On this page

Note for Kemar: these notes are visible to anyone who opens the page. Delete every note before launch. Have the Conference's legal adviser (or data privacy officer) read this policy before it goes live: it is a plain-language draft, not legal advice.

Last updated: 8 November 2026

The East Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventists cares for the people who contact it, and that includes their personal information. This policy explains what eastcarib.org collects, why, how long it is kept and the choices you have. It is written to the standard of the Barbados Data Protection Act, 2019, and applies to visitors from Barbados, Dominica and anywhere else.

Who is responsible for your information

The East Caribbean Conference of Seventh-day Adventists ("the Conference") runs this website and decides how the information it collects is used.

Bryden's Avenue, Brittons Hill, Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados

Phone: 1 (246) 417-6760 · Email: eccinfo@eastcarib.org

Note for Kemar: if the Conference has a named data privacy officer, add their title here (for example "Data privacy officer: the Executive Secretary").

What the website collects

Information you send through a form. The site has forms to contact the Conference, contact a pastor, receive prayer, request Bible studies, ask about baptism, submit a story and register an event. Depending on the form, it asks for:

your name, email address and phone number
your island and your local church
your message, prayer request or questions
for stories: the story, photos, captions and the story's category
for events: the event's name, description, flyer, dates, times, venue, cost and the church or department hosting it

Only the fields marked as required must be filled in.

Information about your faith. A prayer request, a request for Bible studies or baptism, and your church can show your religious beliefs. The law treats this as sensitive personal information. The Conference asks for your consent on each of these forms, uses the information only to answer your request, and keeps it to the people who need it.

Information your browser shares. Like most websites, the site's server records technical details when you visit: your IP address, browser type, the pages you open and the time. These logs keep the site secure and working.

Your location, only if you ask. On Find a Church, the Near me button asks your browser for your location to sort churches by distance. Your browser only shares it if you allow it. The location is used on your device to sort the list and is not sent to or stored by the Conference.

How the Conference uses it

to answer your message, pray with you or arrange a call or visit from a pastor
to arrange Bible studies or baptism classes when you ask for them
to review, edit and publish stories and events you send (see the Terms of Use)
to keep the website secure and to understand, in total, how it is used (Google Analytics, only with your consent)

The Conference uses your information because you gave consent, because you asked it to do something for you, or because it has a legitimate interest in running a safe website. It does not sell your information or use it for advertising.

Who sees it

Form messages go to the Conference office and, when your request is for them, to the pastor or department concerned. Prayer requests are shared only with the people who pray for them. Your details are not published unless you send a story or event to be published; then your name may appear as its author or contact.

The website relies on a few outside services. Some of them are outside Barbados, and the Conference uses them only for the purposes below:

Website host and email delivery store the website and send form emails. They receive everything sent through the site.
Google Analytics counts visits and pages viewed, in total. It receives the pages viewed, your device type and approximate location, and only after you accept cookies.
Google Fonts supplies the site's fonts and receives your IP address.
Esri draws the maps on Find a Church, island and church pages, and receives your IP address and the map area viewed.
Google Maps shows the office on the Contact page. It receives your IP address and may set cookies.
YouTube plays ECC Online videos and livestreams when you open them, and collects information under its own policy.
jsDelivr supplies the code for the maps and smooth scrolling, and receives your IP address.

Note for Kemar: Google Analytics is not on the site yet: Cerah adds it, loading only after a visitor accepts cookies, once she has the Measurement ID (starts with G-). The Contact page's Google map loads before the cookie choice; Cerah can make it wait for consent, otherwise this wording stays.

If the law requires it, the Conference may share information with the authorities.

Cookies and browser storage

When you first visit, a notice asks you to choose Accept or Only essential.

Essential: a cookie that remembers your choice, and the cookies that keep staff signed in. The site cannot work without these.
Analytics (only if you accept): Google Analytics cookies that count visits. Choosing Only essential keeps them off.
On your device only: the site remembers which updates you have seen in What's new and which first steps you have ticked on Follow Jesus. These stay in your browser and are not sent to the Conference.

You can delete cookies at any time in your browser settings.

How long it is kept

Prayer requests: 6 months
Contact and Contact a Pastor messages: 2 years
Bible study and baptism requests: 2 years after the last contact
Stories and events not published: 1 year
Published stories and events: while they are on the site
Server logs: up to 90 days

After that, the information is deleted.

Note for Kemar: these periods are suggestions: the Conference should confirm them. Cerah then sets the same periods in Forminator's data settings so submissions are deleted on time. Check the 90-day server log period with the website host.

Your rights

You can ask the Conference to:

give you a copy of the information it holds about you
correct anything that is wrong
delete your information
stop using it, or use it only in limited ways
withdraw your consent at any time (this does not affect what was done before)

Write to eccinfo@eastcarib.org or to the office address above. The Conference may ask you to confirm who you are, and will reply within one month. If you are not satisfied with the reply, you can complain to the Data Protection Commissioner in Barbados.

Note for Kemar: ask the legal adviser whether the Conference needs to register with the Data Protection Commissioner, and whether one month is the right reply time.

Keeping it safe

The site uses a secure (HTTPS) connection. Form messages are stored in the site's protected admin area and only Conference staff can see them. No website is completely secure, so please do not send passwords or financial details through the forms.

Children

The forms are meant for adults. Anyone under 18 should ask a parent or guardian before sending a form. A story with photos of children needs the permission of their parent or guardian.

Changes to this policy

The Conference may update this policy. The date at the top shows when it last changed.

Questions

Email eccinfo@eastcarib.org or call 1 (246) 417-6760.