Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 2026. This policy applies to carismachurch.ca and our member portal.

Who we are

Carisma Church is a church located at 1239 Main St E, Hamilton, Ontario. If you have any questions about this policy or your information, contact us at wellingtonmariano@gmail.com or 905·527·5448.

What we collect

• When you contact us: your name, email, and the message you send.
• If you are on the church's staff or leadership and sign in: your email address and a scrambled form of the password you choose (the password itself is never stored, so nobody at the church can see it), kept in Canada, and, if you make a profile, the name, short description and photo you choose to add.
• When you give: your name, address, envelope number and the gifts recorded, so the church can issue your charitable tax receipt. The Canada Revenue Agency requires these records to be kept for six years.
• Automatically: basic technical information (such as your browser type) needed to keep the site secure and working. We do not sell your data or use invasive tracking.

How we use it

• To care for you pastorally and keep you connected to the life of the church.
• To communicate with you about services, events, teams you serve on, and things you've asked about.
• To organize serving teams and church activities.

We only use your information for the purposes it was given, and we ask your consent before using it for anything else.

Who can see it

Access is limited to the people who need it, and each part is locked separately: the calendar editors cannot see giving records, and giving records are visible only to the people the church has given giving access. A leadership profile appears on the public About page only if you tick "show me" and an admin approves it; untick it and it comes off straight away. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share information only where required by law, or to protect the safety of a person.

Children & safeguarding

We take the safety of children seriously. Information about minors is collected only with a parent or guardian's involvement, kept to what's needed for their care and safety, and handled under our safeguarding policy. Photos of children are only used with a guardian's consent.

Photos & media

A profile photo is shown only to you and the church's admins until you choose to appear on the About page and an admin approves it. Photos are stored privately in Canada, and the location data a phone camera saves inside a photo is removed when it is uploaded. You can remove your photo, or your whole profile, yourself at any time from My profile. Please let us know if you'd prefer your image not appear in any other church photos or media.

How your information is stored

We store your information securely and keep it only as long as needed for the purposes above, or as required by law. You can ask us to update or delete your information at any time.

Cookies & local storage

If you are on the church's staff and sign in, the site sets a cookie that keeps you signed in (for 30 days if you ask it to), and removes it when you sign out. The site also uses your browser's local storage to remember small preferences. We don't use advertising or tracking cookies.

Your rights

Under Canadian privacy law (PIPEDA), you have the right to access the personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. To make a request, email wellingtonmariano@gmail.com.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "last updated" date above will always reflect the current version.