Privacy Policy - Neffsville Mennonite Church

Prayer Request Privacy Policy For NMC Staff

Acts 2:42 tells us that the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”. As we seek to continue the ministry of Jesus at Neffsville Mennonite Church , we believe in the power of prayer. We also recognize that prayer requests often contain private information that is entrusted to us for the express purpose of prayer. This is a sacred trust that we endeavor to respect at all times. Therefore, we abide by the following procedures to protect the privacy of individuals.

Authorization: Prayer requests will be shared by a staff person only if consent to share it is given. Authorization to share a prayer request may come through either direct or implied consent. It is considered direct consent when an individual submits a prayer request for himself or herself directly to the church through a written or verbal request. It is considered implied consent when an individual submits a prayer request for another person and has stated that they received that person’s permission to share it.

Scope: The scope of information shared about an individual’s condition will vary depending on the audience. When sharing information about an individual’s condition to the entire congregation or individual members of the congregation, only the patient’s name and general condition will be shared using terms such as good, fair, serious, critical, treated, admitted, or released , unless direct consent is given from the patient to a staff member to share more information. When staff members share in their meetings, more detailed information, such as type of illness, date of surgery, name of hospital, diagnosis, or prognosis, may be shared with either direct or implied consent for the purpose of prayer or pastoral care. This information is strictly confidential and will not be shared or discussed with others outside of the meeting.

Dissemination: Unless directly requested otherwise by the patient, prayer requests may be shared through the Sunday bulletin, the church website, emails sent to members, weekly prayer groups, and staff and elder meetings.

Audience: Prayer requests that are posted on the church website or sent through email are assumed to be able to be seen by anyone worldwide. Written prayer requests submitted during a Sunday morning service or placed in the prayer room are available to anyone who enters the prayer room.

CarePages and PrayerCircles Alternatives: Staff members will refer people to CarePages to assist them in sharing concerns with others. CarePages and PrayerCircles are available as a link from NMC’s website. These are free services that provide a forum to share requests, updates, and stories with an individual’s families and friends. They are password protected and contain their own privacy policies.