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September 14, 2006 - Privacy
Blog
Privacy
2007 Schedule
Blog
Make sure you check out the
Communicators’ blog (also make sure you've looked
at other resources).
The blog is designed to give
you helpful tips, answer questions, and give a place for you to ask each other
questions. You can subscribe to have it emailed to you (My apologies that the
last one was cut off in the email. I have no idea what happened, please click on
the link to read the whole thing.). Also make sure you check back to read any
comments. Topics so far have included
Lutherans Online and
DreamWeaver.
You WILL have to subscribe to
Blogger to post a comment, but it’s really
quick and easy.
There was also some
discussion about alternate ways to have online discussion. There is a
possibility in the future for having a
LutherLink discussion board. For now we’ll try this though. (If you didn't
know, LutherLink has an ELCA
Communicators Board that may be helpful and a Bloggers United board if anyone is
interested in learning more about blogging. I believe you can subscribe to two
discussions free of charge.
Privacy
The topic of the day was
privacy – what you can share and how. This is very ambiguous ground, so it was
mostly a discussion of what each of us do to protect people’s privacy.
- Legal obligations
- HIPAA is only applicable
to health facility employees. If a parish pastor visits someone and adds
that person to Sunday’s prayers, it is not a HIPAA violation. If a health
care worker (even if a congregation member) passes that information on, that
IS a violation. (Info from a
Lutheran
Services PDF document)
- The above document also
explains the patient list system. As discussed at the meeting,
patients/residents sign a form to allow their name to be put on a list and
their pastor to see that. HIPAA does allow this type of list.
- Visit the
Lutheran Services
website for more information on pastoral responsibility in regards to HIPAA.
- In regards to publishing
photos, you are legally allowed to publish pretty much anything unless it is
an unreasonable revelation of private facts (like medical information),
unreasonably placing another person in a false light before the public (for
an example, a photo taken from a deceiving angle), or a misappropriation of
a person’s name or likeness (such as making them appear that they’re
supporting something they’re not). Another explanation is don’t publish
anything that would be highly offensive to a reasonable person and is not of
legitimate concern to the public. (Info from
The
Legal Rights of PhotographersPDF by
Andrew Kantor)
And that’s the end of the
“rules”…
- Private Information on the
internet
- The synod DOES publish
home addresses and phone numbers on the internet but ONLY with the
individuals’ permission. This is particularly important to obtain when event
information comes in with and individual’s phone number. Emails are not a
topic of concern unless the individual expresses a desire to keep it
private.
- Others change all
information to the church phone number address for the website.
- If you wish to publish
this information but don’t want to contact everyone personally, make sure
you include a permission request on any form where you ask for contact info.
- Some congregations do
not publish birthdays, baptisms, or funerals online either (some not in
print either, but mostly for space reasons). Birthdays especially give
another piece of personal information that could theoretically lead to
identity theft. Funerals are public record anyway, which can support either
practice.
- Photos on the internet
- The easiest way to
obtain permission is to include a line on any/all registration forms. An
example of this is Good Earth Village’s
registration form. It is also on their
health form (same paragraph).
- If you have many events
that do not have any registration, a form for all members may be necessary.
OR an announcement at the event that photos will be taken and please fill
out a form (or some other action) if you do NOT wish your photos to be
published. And example of a form is
Mid-Way Baptist Church (or just Google for it, that's how I found this
one).
- You do not have to
caption photos with names. Especially to protect children, it might be good
to leave names (or at least last names) off.
Random topic of the day…
- Communion Cards/Welcome
pads
- What is their purpose? –
count attendance, maintain active member list, (theoretically) as a way for
people to learn each others’ names (welcome pads).
- One way to cut down on
work but still use them is to only record that a person has communed once
for the year, then don’t record them again that year.
- Hand counts do suffice
for congregational reports.
2007
Schedule
The first thing we talked
about for 2007 was the idea of having some kind of retreat. The idea was well
received and several ideas were discussed.
We will have a retreat 6:00
p.m. Thursday, February 1 – 4:00 p.m. Friday, February 2, 2007 at
Good Earth Village in Spring
Valley. If you are not able to come for the whole event but want to come for
either Thursday evening only or Friday during the day only, that will be an
option. There will be a small fee, which is yet to be determined. The cost per
person for the space is $25 plus meals. This is NOT a final price though.
Details to come.
Another opportunity to keep
in mind is the
ELCA Communicators' Conference. Joanne Hamilton, Our Savior's, Rochester,
and I attended the 2006 conference in Chicago. It is a great opportunity to
network and go to excellent workshops. I will explore a travel grant, but if
you're able to get the approximately $500 registration fee for this 4-day event
covered in your continuing education, it would be money well spent.
The other topics for 2007
will be:
- Communication Policies
(deadlines, what can be included and what can’t, etc. regarding bulletins,
newsletters, inserts)
- How to Conduct a
Communication Audit
- Sharing on Office
Equipment
- General Resource Sharing –
bring examples, costs, and how to acquire your favorite resources
- Electronic Ministry
(exploring new avenues) – At Hosanna, Rochester
- Congregational Reports and
Annual Reports – In November
Please contact me (
or
call 507-280-9457 or 800-426-6376 (MN only)) if you are willing to host a
meeting. Your obligations include setting up a space for those attending and
coordinating lunch (reservations at a restaurant, catering (party subs do count
as catering!), or having a meal prepared at the church). Specify a month or a
topic you would like to host. Months will be January, March, May, July,
September, and November. The above topics are not assigned to a month except as
noted. Submitted by
Communications Director
Southeastern Minnesota Synod, ELCA |
