1. Information We Collect

In short: We collect information you voluntarily provide and limited technical information needed to operate, maintain, and secure the website.

Information you provide directly

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you contact us, submit a website form, subscribe to parish updates, request information about a service or event, or otherwise communicate with Holy Cross.

The information you provide may include:

• First and last name;
• Email address;
• Subject and message content;
• Information related to a parish inquiry, event, sacrament, donation receipt, or pastoral request; and
• Any other information you choose to include in your communication.

Automatically collected technical information

When you visit the website, our web host, security tools, and other technical service providers may automatically receive limited information such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser and device type, operating system, referring page, pages requested, and timestamps. This information is generally used for website operation, diagnostics, security, and abuse prevention.

Sensitive information

We do not intentionally request sensitive personal information through the public website. Because messages to a church may sometimes contain personal, religious, family, health, or pastoral details, please provide only the information necessary for us to respond. Do not use a general website form for urgent, emergency, or highly confidential communications.

Donations through Zelle

Zelle donations are initiated through your own bank or credit union. Our website does not directly collect your bank-account credentials, debit-card information, or Zelle login information. Holy Cross may receive transaction information made available to the recipient, such as the sender’s displayed name, amount, date, memo, and enrolled contact information.

You are responsible for ensuring that information you provide is accurate and for notifying us when it changes.

2. How We Use Your Information

In short: We use information to operate the website, respond to you, communicate parish information, protect our systems, and comply with law.

Depending on how you interact with Holy Cross, we may use personal information to:

• Respond to questions, contact-form submissions, and service requests;
• Provide information about worship, events, sacraments, pastoral services, and parish activities;
• Send parish news or announcements when you have subscribed or otherwise requested them;
• Maintain donation, acknowledgment, and receipt records;
• Operate, troubleshoot, maintain, and secure the website;
• Detect and prevent spam, misuse, fraud, and security incidents;
• Maintain appropriate administrative, accounting, tax, and legal records; and
• Comply with applicable legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

We may also use information for another purpose when you direct us to do so or when we provide appropriate notice and obtain consent where required.

3. When and With Whom We Share Information

In short: We do not sell personal information. We may disclose information to service providers and in limited legal or organizational circumstances.

We may disclose information in the following circumstances:

• Service providers. Vendors may process information on our behalf when providing website hosting, maintenance, security, email delivery, form handling, backups, or related technical services.
• Church administration. Information may be provided to the pastor, authorized church officers, staff, volunteers, accountants, or other persons who reasonably need it to respond to an inquiry or administer parish activities.
• Legal and safety purposes. We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law, legal process, a court order, or a lawful government request, or to protect rights, safety, property, and website security.
• Organizational changes. If responsibility for the website or parish administration is transferred, relevant records may be transferred to the successor organization or authorized administrator, subject to applicable law.
• At your direction. We may share information when you ask or authorize us to do so.

We do not sell personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

4. Third-Party Services and Embedded Content

In short: Some website features are provided by third parties whose privacy practices are governed by their own policies.

Contact forms and email delivery

When you submit a contact form, the information may be stored by WordPress or transmitted through our website host and email-delivery provider so the church can receive and respond to your message.

Facebook content

Pages on this website may display embedded Facebook posts, videos, or a Facebook Page feed. When embedded content loads, Meta or Facebook may receive technical information about your browser or device and may use cookies or similar technologies according to its own privacy policy and your Facebook settings. You may be able to prevent some embedded content from loading through browser privacy controls, content blockers, or cookie settings.

External links

The website may link to Facebook, Zelle, mapping services, or other external sites. Holy Cross does not control the privacy, security, or content practices of those independent services. Review their policies before providing personal information.

Cookies and similar technologies

WordPress, installed plugins, security tools, and embedded services may use cookies or similar storage technologies for essential operation, security, preferences, or third-party content. The exact cookies used may change when the website’s plugins or integrations change.

5. How Long We Keep Information

In short: We keep information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy or as required by law.

Retention periods depend on the type of information and why it was collected. For example, ordinary contact messages may be retained until the inquiry is resolved, while donation, receipt, accounting, sacramental, or legally significant records may be retained for longer periods when appropriate or required.

When information is no longer reasonably needed, we may delete, anonymize, or securely archive it. Backup copies may remain for a limited period until they are overwritten or deleted through normal backup procedures.

6. How We Protect Information

In short: We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards, but no internet transmission or storage system is completely secure.

We take reasonable measures designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include access controls, HTTPS encryption, software updates, backups, spam controls, and security monitoring appropriate to the website and information involved.

Despite these precautions, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. You provide information through the website at your own risk and should use a secure device and connection.

7. Children’s Privacy

In short: The website is intended for a general audience and is not designed to collect personal information directly from children under 13.

We do not knowingly request personal information through the website from children under 13 without appropriate parental or guardian involvement. Parents or guardians who believe a child has submitted personal information may contact us at HolyCrossUpland@gmail.com so that we can review and, when appropriate, delete it.

This section concerns online data collection. It does not prevent children and families from attending worship, parish events, or religious and community programs.

8. Your Privacy Rights and Choices

In short: Depending on applicable law and the circumstances, you may request access, correction, deletion, or other action concerning your personal information.

You may contact us to request that we:

• Confirm whether we maintain personal information about you;
• Provide access to personal information you previously submitted;
• Correct inaccurate information;
• Delete information when retention is not required or otherwise justified; or
• Stop optional promotional emails.

Withdrawing consent

When processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent by contacting us. Withdrawal does not affect processing that occurred before your request or processing permitted on another lawful basis.

Email communications

You may unsubscribe from promotional or newsletter emails by using the unsubscribe instructions in the message, when provided, or by emailing us. We may still send non-promotional responses or administrative communications related to your request.

Privacy rights are not absolute. We may need to verify your identity and may retain information when permitted or required for legal, security, accounting, pastoral, archival, or administrative reasons.

9. Do-Not-Track and Privacy Signals

In short: Browsers may offer privacy signals, but not every signal has a uniform technical or legal meaning.

Some browsers and devices offer a Do-Not-Track (DNT) setting. Because there is not a uniform industry standard for interpreting DNT signals, the website does not currently respond to DNT as a separate request.

Holy Cross does not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising. If applicable law requires recognition of another browser-based privacy signal for a particular processing activity, we will take reasonable steps to comply.

10. California Privacy Disclosures

In short: California’s CCPA generally does not apply to nonprofit organizations, but we still aim to provide transparent information and respond reasonably to privacy requests.

The categories below describe information the website or its service providers may have processed during the preceding 12 months. The examples are illustrative and do not mean that every listed example is collected.

*A person may voluntarily include demographic, religious, health, family, or other personal details in a message. Holy Cross does not request those details through the ordinary public contact form unless they are reasonably necessary for a specific inquiry or pastoral request.

Sale and sharing

We have not sold personal information and do not intend to sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Submitting a request

California residents may contact us using the information below. We may request information reasonably necessary to verify identity and authority before responding. An authorized agent may be required to provide written permission or other proof of authority.

11. Updates to This Policy

In short: We may update this policy when our website, service providers, practices, or legal obligations change.

The date at the top identifies the most recent revision. Material changes may be communicated by posting a prominent notice on the website or by another reasonable method. We encourage visitors to review this page periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, contact us at:

13. Requests to Review, Correct, or Delete Information

To request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information you previously provided through the website, email HolyCrossUpland@gmail.com with the subject line Privacy Request.

Please include:

• Your full name;
• The email address used when contacting us;
• A clear description of the information or communication involved; and
• The action you are requesting.

We will review requests in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify identity, and we may decline or limit a request when retention is legally required, reasonably necessary for security or recordkeeping, or otherwise permitted by law.