About Us

Our Team

Rebekah O’Dowd

Children’s and Youth Co-ordinator

Philippa Done

Worship Leader

Rich Taylor

Technical Support and Building Maintenance

Nataliia Morhun

Housekeeper

Juliette Farrell

Events and Hospitality

Tina Brogan

Office and Finance Admin

What We Believe

Christians believe many things but put simply we believe that anyone from any background can live their life as a child of God and as a follower – or disciple – of Jesus. Through faith in Jesus, his death and resurrection, God invites us to share a life-long, loving relationship with him and to receive forgiveness, healing, care and compassion. God fills us with his Spirit who helps us to become better people and to live better lives. It is what Jesus described as ‘life in all its fullness’.

Through that same faith in Jesus we become part of his Church, a worldwide family of believers. Together we gather to worship God, to give him thanks and praise. We pray with each other and for each other. We learn from the Bible and use it as a foundation for life. We try to show the same love to others that God shows to us, through acts of kindness and generosity.

It is a life of great commitment but one in which we receive more blessings than we can imagine or deserve. It is a life lived in God’s love.

If you would like to know more about living life as a Christian then please come and find us, and please feel free to ask any questions – we may not have great answers, but we will do our best!

Our Vision

passionate in worship, joyful in celebration,
overflowing in thankfulness, unceasing in prayer,
wholehearted in welcome, generous in hospitality,
genuine in friendship, compassionate in support,
eager in sharing God’s love, confident in proclaiming Jesus, focused on growing disciples, creative in welcoming families, determined in helping the vulnerable,
committed to caring for creation

Birmingham's Parish Church

St. Martin in the Bull Ring sits in an iconic position in the social and retail heart of Britian’s second city. Significantly, there has been a church on this site since the 13th century – possibly before – and the history of St. Martin’s is integral to the story of Birmingham. It remains a cherished place of beauty and peace in a busy city centre and is visited by thousands every week. It is home to multiple civic occasions and special acts of worship throughout each year, welcoming people from across our city and our region. It continues to thrive as a place of worship and prayer for a vibrant, multi-ethnic, multi-generational Christian community.

Some of our oldest members came as young adults to hear the preaching of Canon Bryan Green, who drew enormous crowds in the 1950/60s, while some of our newest members have come from across the globe and have found a caring Christian community to call home. We exist because of the love of Jesus, and we think it is as important now as it was 700 years ago that, at the heart of Birmingham, there continues to be a living, active church – a loving Christian family where all in Birmingham are welcome.

Demonstrator Churches Project

St. Martin’s has been given funding for net zero projects which others can learn from as part of a new project from the Church of England.
We are one of over 100 churches to be offered a grant as part of the £5.2M Demonstrator Churches project from the Church of England’s Net Zero Programme.
This aims to help 114 churches in 2024 and 2025 pay for items such as solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, secondary glazing, LED lighting and infrared heating systems.
As work progresses, the network of Demonstrator Churches – representing many different types of community and situations – will share what they have learned more widely with dioceses and parishes so that all Church of England churches can learn from their experiences.
It is hoped the project will reduce carbon emissions by 6,615 tonnes by 2030 – targeting some of the highest emitting churches across the UK. 
The Demonstrator Churches project is part of the Church of England’s ambitious Net Zero Carbon Programme which aims to equip, resource and support all parts of the Church to reduce carbon emissions from the energy used in its buildings, schools and through work-related transport by 2030.

DATA PRIVACY NOTICE

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL (PCC) AND THE INCUMBENT OF ST MARTIN IN THE BULL RING (Birmingham Parish Church)

1. Your personal data – what is it?

Personal data is any information about a living individual which allows them to be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information. The processing of personal data is governed by the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679(the “GDPR”) and any other legislation relating to personal data and rights such as the Human Rights Act 1998.

2. Who are we?

The PCC of St Martin in the Bull Ring (charity number 1127338) and the Incumbent work together in the ministry of St Martin in the Bull Ring and are both data controllers (contact details below). This means that both decide how your personal data is processed and for what purposes. In this Privacy Notice we use the word “we” to refer to each controller, as appropriate.

3. What data do we process and how?

Names, titles and images

Contact information including telephone numbers, addresses and email

Where there is a legitimate interest to facilitate our charitable aims and activities, or where you have provided them to us, we may process demographic information such as gender, age, date of birth, marital status, nationality, education/work histories, academic/professional qualifications, family composition, interests and dependants

Where you make donations or pay for activities (event bookings etc.), financial identifiers such as bank account numbers, payment card numbers, payment/transaction identifiers

The data we process is likely to constitute sensitive personal data because, as a church, the fact that we process your data at all may be suggestive of your religious beliefs. Where you provide this information, we may also process other categories of sensitive personal data: racial or ethnic origin, sex life, data concerning sexual orientation, mental and physical health, details of injuries, medication/treatment received, political beliefs, labour union affiliation, genetic data, biometric data, criminal records, fines and other similar judicial records.

The data controllers will comply with their obligations to keep personal data up to date; to store and destroy it securely; to not collect or retain excessive amounts of data; to keep personal data secure and to protect personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and to ensure that appropriate technical and organisational measures are in place to protect personal data.

We use your personal data for some or all of the following purposes: –

To enable us to meet all legal and statutory obligations. For example maintaining and publishing our electoral roll in accordance with the Church Representation Rules and under Canon Law to announce forthcoming weddings by means of the publication of banns

To comply with and facilitate our Safeguarding Procedures (including due diligence and complaints handling) with the aim of ensuring that all children and vulnerable adults are provided with safe environments

To minister to you and provide you with pastoral and spiritual care (such as visiting you when you are gravely ill or bereaved) and to organise and perform ecclesiastical services for you, such as baptisms, weddings and funerals;

To deliver the Church’s mission to our community, and to carry out any other voluntary or charitable activities for the benefit of the public

To administer membership records.

To fundraise and promote the interests of the Church and charity;

To manage our employees and volunteers

To maintain our own accounts and records (including the processing of gift aid applications);

To inform you of news, events, activities and services at St Martin in the Bull Ring.

To seek your views or comments

To send you communications which you have requested or that may be of interest to you; for example about campaigns, events, appeals, other fundraising activities.

Our processing also includes the use of CCTV systems for the prevention and prosecution of crime

4. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

Most of our data is processed because it is necessary for our legitimate interests. For example, maintaining membership records, safeguarding our children, recording our financial donations, rotas for the effective function of our activities and the safety and security of staff, volunteers and visitors and of our resources.

Some of our processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation.  For example, retaining safeguarding records and gift aid declarations, administering and publishing the electoral roll

We may also process personal data if it is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, or to take steps to enter into a contract.  For example the hire of church facilities or a booking for an event.

Explicit consent of the data subject so that we can keep you informed about news, events, activities and services

Religious organisations are also permitted to process information about your religious beliefs to administer membership or contact details.

5. Sharing your personal data

Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential.  It will only be shared with third parties where it is necessary for the performance of our tasks, where we are legally required to share your personal data, where we share your personal data to protect the Church or another individual, or where you first give us your prior consent.  It is likely that we will need to share your personal data with some or all of the following (but only where necessary):

The appropriate bodies of the Church of England

Our agents, servants and contractors. For example, we may ask a commercial provider to maintain our database software e.g. ChurchSuite;

Other clergy or lay persons nominated or licensed by the bishops of the Diocese of Birmingham to support the mission of St Martin in the Bull Ring. For example, our clergy are supported by our area dean and archdeacon, who may provide confidential mentoring and pastoral support.  Assistant or temporary ministers, including curates, deacons, licensed lay ministers, commissioned lay ministers or persons with Bishop’s Permissions may participate in our mission in support of our regular clergy.

On occasion, other churches with which we are carrying out joint events or activities.

6. How long do we keep your personal data?
We keep data in accordance with the guidance set out in the guide “Keep or Bin: Care of Your Parish Records” which is available from the Church of England website [see footnote for link]. Specifically, we retain electoral roll data while it is still current; gift aid declarations and associated paperwork for up to 6 years after the calendar year to which they relate; and parish registers (baptisms, marriages, and funerals) permanently. Subject to such guidance we endeavour to keep personal data only for as long as required by law and otherwise for as long as we need it. This means that we may delete information when it is no longer needed.

7. Your rights and your personal data

You have the rights listed below with respect to your personal data. When exercising any of those rights, in order to process your request, we may need to verify your identity for your security.  In such cases we will need you to respond with proof of your identity before you can exercise these rights.

The right to access personal data we hold on you. At any point you can contact us to request the personal data we hold on you as well as why we have that personal data, who has access to the personal data and where we obtained the personal data from. Once we have received your request we will endeavour to respond within one month. There are no fees or charges for the first request but additional requests for the same personal data may be subject to an administrative fee.

The right to correct and update the personal data we hold on you. If the personal data we hold on you is out of date, incomplete or incorrect, you can inform us and your personal data will be updated.

The right to have your personal data erased. If you feel that we should no longer be using your personal data or that we are illegally using your personal data, you can request that we erase the personal data we hold. When we receive your request we will confirm whether the data has been deleted or the reason why it cannot be deleted (for example because we need it for our legitimate interests or regulatory purpose(s)).

The right to object to processing of your personal data. You have the right to request that we stop processing your personal data. Upon receiving the request we will contact you and let you know if we are able to comply or if we have legitimate grounds to continue to process your personal data. Even after you exercise your right to object, we may continue to hold your personal data to comply with your other rights, legal obligations or to bring or defend legal claims.

The right to data portability. You have the right to request that we transfer some of your personal data to another controller in certain circumstances. We will comply with your request, where it is feasible to do so, within one month of receiving your request.

The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time for any processing of personal data to which consent was sought. You can withdraw your consent easily by telephone, email, or by post (see Contact Details below).

The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing.

The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office. You can contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire. SK9 5AF. Our registration number is ZA029493.

8. Transfer of Data Abroad

Any electronic personal data transferred to countries or territories outside the EU will only be placed on systems complying with measures giving equivalent protection of personal rights either through international agreements or contracts approved by the European Union. Our website is also accessible from overseas so on occasion some personal data (for example in a newsletter or notice of activities) may be accessed from overseas, However it is our general practice not to publish any personal data on our website or in our printed news sheets unless with your express permission. Newsletters are also circulated to members of the church community. Any individual member may forward this email which is beyond our control.

9. Further processing

If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions.  Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing.

10. Changes to this notice

We keep this Privacy Notice under regular review and we will place any updates on our website http://www.bullring.org//.  If we make a significant change, we will notify you. This notice was last updated in July 2019.