“All new forms of communication provide opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in the world. They come, however, with new values. Whereas the printed word has a certain finality of declaration about it, social media is interactive, conversational and open-ended. Moreover, it happens in a public, not private, space. The Methodist Church therefore encourages the user to use social tools as a means of engaging in an interactive conversation with people of all faiths and none. As Gospel people, our conversation should be ‘seasoned with salt’ (Colossians 4:6), and these guidelines aim to help us to do so.”

Social Media Guidelines of the Methodist Church in Britain.

This Policy is based on the principles set out in the Social Media Guidelines issued by the Methodist Church for employees of the Methodist Council. Yatton Methodist Church accepts that the following principles form good practice for Methodist Ministers, lay employees and other office holder or those holding a representative role in the Methodist Church:

• Be credible. Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.
• Be consistent. Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation.
• Be cordial, honest and professional at all times. Be responsive. When you gain insight, share it where appropriate.
• Be integrated. Wherever possible, align online participation with other communications.

Be a good representative of the Methodist Church. Remember that you are an ambassador for Christ, the Church and your part of it. Disclose your position as a member or officer of the Church, making it clear when speaking personally. Let Galatians 5:22-26 guide your behaviour.

Be respectful: respect confidentiality. Respect the views of others even where you disagree.

1.  Participation via Social Media

You should participate online in the same way as you would with other public forums. You take responsibility for the things you do, say or write.

Never share personal details like home address and phone numbers except with someone you know and trust, and if you decide to do so then use a private message. Be aware an address can be disclosed in many ways for example via photos or a GPS position as well as in written form.

Always remember that participating online results in your comments being permanently available and open to being republished in other media. Once something is posted to a blog or other internet site, it should be assumed to be still available even if it is later deleted from the original site.

Stay within the legal framework and be aware that safeguarding, libel, slander, copyright and data protection laws apply, as well as the Constitutional Practice and Discipline (CPD) of the Methodist Church.

Confidentiality: Treat email and text messages with the same level of care and security as written correspondence.

Be aware that self-disclosure via social media can inadvertently reach a wider audience than intended and so become common knowledge. Always be circumspect if there is a risk that information presented may be misinterpreted or misunderstood.

Be aware that your participation may attract media interest in you as an individual, so proceed with care whether you are participating in an official or a personal capacity. If you have any doubts, take advice, but remember that you are responsible for your online activities.

Always be aware that your membership of the Church means that you are regarded as a representative of the faith we share.

2.  Use of Official Name and Logo

Any use of the Yatton Methodist Church name or logo for branding or titling pages, blogs or similar elements of social media must be approved in writing prior to use. Requests should be made to the Church Administrator.

Even when engaging in social media for personal use, the comments of a member of Yatton Methodist Church may be viewed as a reflection on the Church. Users should use their best judgment when engaging in social media activities and should be on guard against actions and discussions that could harm the interests of our church community.

4.  Transparency

Users’ social media communications are made in their personal capacity and not on behalf of Yatton Methodist Church.  Statements made by members of the church community should not be taken as expressing the formal position of Yatton Methodist Church unless the writer is specifically authorized to do so by the Minister.

5.  Copyright Laws

Users must comply fully with copyright law when posting and uploading materials. Any posting of materials to official Yatton Methodist Church social media must be limited to materials in which the copyright is owned by the party seeking to post the information, or in which the owner has consented to the sharing of the materials. Images and other materials from the Yatton Methodist Church website shall not be copied and uploaded to other forums without the prior written consent of the Minister.

6.  Privacy

Users of social media must comply with the Yatton Methodist Church Privacy Policy i.e. All users of social media within the Yatton Methodist Church community should take care to safeguard the privacy interests of other community members. In particular, personal information (that is, information that can reasonably identify a particular person, including name, phone number, address or email address) should not be disclosed without the prior written consent of the person identified. In cases where a user has consented to the publication of such information, appropriate privacy settings and levels should still be utilized.

7.  Mindfulness for those deployed and employed in our Churches

Those working for the church should reflect on when to use social networks during working hours.  It is recognised that this is a powerful and effective medium to keep in touch with friends, co-workers and volunteers, but being mindful of how much time is spent in online activities set against other work priorities is vital.

This Policy should be read in conjunction with:

1.  The Methodist Safeguarding Policy

2.  Yatton Methodist Social Media and Engaging with Young People – Policy and Guidance.  This sets boundaries for the use of Internet, email and texting communication particularly for those working with young people.

Policy and Guidelines

This policy document relates to social networking, internet, email and use of mobile phones.

We recognise that for many young people, technology is their preferred means of communication and it can also be an extremely effective tool within youth work.  However while it brings opportunities there are also significant risk and it is important that guidelines are followed.

Leaders communicating with young people or vulnerable adults via the internet, email, social networking or mobile phone must be DBS checked in accordance with the Methodist Church safeguarding guidelines.

It is recommended that:

• If a worker expects to communicate with young people via email, messenger, social networking sites or texting, written permission from the child’s parents should be given.
• One-to-one communication between a worker and a young person should normally be avoided. Communication should always be in a page or group context, using an approved ‘Work’ account that a supervisor or approved third party can access and review.
• Clear and unambiguous language should be used in all communications. Avoid abbreviations and symbols that could be mis-interpreted.
• Do not use any comment or picture of a young person without written parental permission.

Mobile Phones:

• Employed workers should be supplied with a mobile phone dedicated for work purposes. This allows for the phone to be switched off outside working hours, and for usage to be accountable.
• The work phone number should be the only number that young people are given; a worker’s personal number should remain private.
• Any texts received that raise concerns should be saved and passed on to a supervisor, safeguarding officer or approved third party within the organisation. Conversations raising concerns should be discussed as soon as possible.

Email and Messenger services, including Whatsapp etc:

• Be aware of who has access to computers, or other devices, used for communication between workers and young people.
• There should be a ‘curfew’ on instant messenger communication and mobile phone texting and this should only take place during reasonable ‘working hours’ and not late into the night etc.
• Log and save all conversations and regularly review these with your supervisor before they are deleted. Make sure that young people know that a supervisor has access to the conversations.
• Video or Voice messenger should be done in public so that other people are aware of what you are doing and to whom you are speaking.

 Facebook & Social Networking Sites:

• Best practice is that it is not appropriate to use a personal Facebook account and profile for work with young people, so you should create a professional account to manage your communications with young people
• To create a professional or ‘work’ account and profile, enter your work email in the sign up box, adding ‘Work’ or another suitable term after your last name to distinguish your professional profile from your personal (i.e. Sue Brice Work)
• Your supervisor/Named Person should be aware of the account name and password so that they can at any time log onto the account to monitor the communications. Young people should be made aware that information is shared in this way.
• You should ensure your organisation/church name is entered onto the profile you create. Also make sure you use work contact details and web address.
• You should use a photo of you in an official/work setting.
• Adding interests makes your profile more interesting, but only share information appropriate to the young people you will be working with. Likes or endorsements of political causes might not be appropriate.
• You should consider entering a ‘expectations statement’ under ‘about’ in your profile such as:

I am a youth worker with a keen interest in social media which I use to share about the groups and events we run through Yatton Methodist Church.  I also post lots of links that I think young people who come to our groups would find interesting. I only log-in to Facebook a few times a week so if you need to contact someone from Yatton Methodist Church urgently then please call 0XXXXXXXX or email theYW@xxxxxxxx.org.uk.

• Any communication or content that raises concerns should be saved or printed, shared and discussed with your supervisor/named person.
• Workers should only accept friend requests for this profile from young people known to them, that they have first met offline.
• Communication should normally be in the public domain wherever possible using group mailings or public wall posts.
• Workers with personal social networking accounts should customise their privacy settings in order to maintain the boundaries between their personal and professional lives.

At Yatton Methodist Church we welcome all gifts in Wills, however large or small, and we promise to use those gifts to make a difference in our church and/or community.

Our legacy policy is to use gifts to help fund significant activities or projects, whether buildings, equipment or staff, rather than day to day expenditure.

Since needs change over the years, we encourage gifts left in wills to be for the general purposes of the church rather than for a restricted purpose.  Church Council representatives may discuss possible uses of a particular gift with executors, bearing in mind any known areas of interest in the church by the benefactor (e.g. music, buildings, children and youth, evangelism, overseas mission or aid) and the churches priority at the time.

Gift left to the church will be used as soon as practically possible, to make a real difference to the church’s mission and ministry.