Global Ministries Creation Care Network Terms of Use

1. LEGAL NOTICE

The Service is provided by the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church (Inc.) (hereinafter designated as “Global Ministries”):

Global Ministries, Registered office:
458 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE,
Building A, Suite 1,
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
A nonprofit religious organization
E-mail: info@umcmission.org
Phone number: 1-800-862-4246

Hosting:
Google Cloud Platform
Company located at Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin,
Ireland
Registered in the Dublin Trade and Companies Register under
the number: 752925594
Phone number: +353 1 436 1000

2. DEFINITIONS

Community Website: The online platform named Global Ministries Creation Care Network, edited by Hivebrite and provided by Global Ministries, allowing the User to benefit from the Service.

Data Protection Laws: The Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

User Account: A dedicated online account opened by any visitor, providing access to the Service.

Identifiers: Login and password, or social login, used by the User to create the User Account.

Party or Parties: The User and Global Ministries, designated either individually or collectively.

Service: The Community Website and all the functionalities provided therein, as described in the Terms and Conditions.

Service Content: Any data, text, files, information, usernames, images, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, sounds, works of authorship, applications, links, and other content or materials made available during the Service.

User or Users: Any person authorized by Global Ministries to access and use the Service after creation of a User Account.

User Content: Any content created, posted, or shared by the User, on or through the Service including any information, data, photos and other content relating to the User.

3. TERM

The Terms of Service will come into effect upon the User’s first access to the Service and will remain in effect for the entire duration of use.

4. DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICE

The Service enables the Users to connect with each other, build communities, and network.
The Service comprises a suite of online services provided by Global Ministries, allowing the User to:

Connect with people, groups and organizations the User is interested in:

• Live Feed: Allows the Users to have access to a newsfeed aggregating contents posted via the application. They can comment on the posts.

• Geolocation Services: The platform offers geolocation features that enable the Users to share their location to connect with others nearby. This feature is optional and can be enabled or disabled at the User’s discretion. When enabled, the user’s location data is used solely to enhance networking capabilities within the community. The Users can manage their geolocation preferences in their account settings.

• Organizations: Allows users to view a directory of Organizations working at the intersection of faith and environment.

Communicate with others by sharing content such as status, photos, videos, sending private messages, as well as creating events, groups, projects and resources.

• People Directory: Provides the Users with the contact details of other Users who have consented to making their profiles visible and for sharing of their contact details. This feature is optional. Profile visibility and contact sharing may each be enabled or disabled by the Users at their discretion.

• Private messages: Allows the Users to discuss by private messages. The Users can enable or disable the ability for other Users to contact them by private message.

• Projects: Allows the Users to create a project.

• Groups: The Users can be part of groups with all the features of the application.

• Event organization: Allows the Users to create events.

• Forums: Allows the Users to have group discussions on topics.

Ensure the safety and integrity of the Community Website with a reporting tool allowing the Users to signal contents and other Users.

Stay up to date with news about Global Ministries/UMC creation care and activities in the Community Website:

• Email campaigns: The User can receive email from the Creation Care Network. The Users can control the emails they receive.

• Notifications: The Users who have agreed can receive notifications sent by the Creation Care Network. Users can control the notifications they receive.

These Terms of Service govern the use of each component of the Service.

5. ACCESS TO THE SERVICE

Access to the Service shall be subject to the creation of a User Account.

The Service is available on the website https://creationcare.umcmission.org/ or through the mobile app UM-GBGM Creation Care Network, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

5.1. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ACCESS TO THE SERVICE

The User must ensure that their system (the “User’s System”) has:

• The ability and means required to access and use the Service;
• The appropriate hardware (computer, smartphone, etc.) and operating software, and the responsibility for their maintenance and security;
• Internet access from any access provider of the User’s choice;
• An adapted configuration of the browser.

Users shall bear all the costs for accessing the Service.

5.2. CREATION OF THE USER ACCOUNT

This shall require the entering of personal identification data through the online registration form accessible at the following address: https://creationcare.umcmission.org/signup

The User shall enter user identification data such as name, surname, and email, and is invited to choose their Identifiers. The User must also respond to the field “I am over the age of 13” in the affirmative in order to create a User account.

The User agrees to provide only accurate and complete information when creating or updating their Account information. 

5.3. ACCESS MODALITIES

In order to benefit from the Services, the User must log-in and insert the Identifiers or log in with the Facebook/LinkedIn/Google account the User used to create the User Account. Identifiers are personal and confidential. The Users are responsible for keeping it secret and not disclose it to any third party in any form and for any reason whatsoever.

The User’s login can only be changed at the request of the User or at the initiative of Global Ministries. The User’s password is modifiable by the User through their User Account. The User is solely and entirely responsible for the use of the User’s Identifiers and undertakes to do everything possible to keep it confidential and not to disclose them to anyone, in any form whatsoever and for any reason whatsoever. If the User forgets their password, the User can generate a new one by clicking on the link “Reset my password” available at https://creationcare.umcmission.org/users/password/new.

The User is solely responsible for the activity that occurs on their User Account and keeping their Identifiers secure. The User is also responsible for the use of their Identifiers by third-parties or for any actions or declarations made through their User Account, whether fraudulent or not, and shall indemnify Global Ministries against any claims or request arising from such use.

If the User has reason to believe that a person is fraudulently using their identification elements or User Account, they must immediately inform Global Ministries by e-mail at: environment@umcmission.org.

The User is solely responsible for any improper access, damage, disruption, loss, or theft and adverse consequences caused by their breach of the confidentiality of the Identifiers. In case of loss, misappropriation, or unauthorized use of their password, the User shall immediately notify Global Ministries.

Users may not use another person’s account without permission. A User Account may not be shared, transferred, or sold to other parties, nor may it be used by or made available to any person or to any entity except the registered user.

6. COST OF SERVICE

The Service is available free of charge (excluding any connection costs, the price of which depends on the User’s electronic communication service provider).

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

7.1. OWNERSHIP OF THE SERVICES AND THE SERVICE CONTENT

The Service and the Service Content belong to and shall remain the property of Global Ministries or its licensors, as appropriate, and is protected by copyright, patent (when applicable), trade secret and other intellectual property laws.

The User shall not acquire any of such rights, title, or interest (including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights such as copies, modifications, extensions, and derivative works thereof), except as otherwise expressly set out in this Article 7.2. The User shall take all necessary measures to this effect. All rights not expressly granted to the Users are reserved and retained by Global Ministries and its licensors.

Any reproduction, representation, distribution, modification, adaptation, or translation of the Service Content, in whole or in part, in any form and current or future medium, is strictly prohibited, except within the limit of the Terms of Service or with prior express authorization of Global Ministries. Any use of the Service Content not expressly authorized by Global Ministries shall constitute a violation of the Terms of Use and a violation of intellectual property rights.

Except as specifically permitted by these Terms of Use, the User may not use, register, delete, or alter any name, logo, brand, or insignia of Global Ministries or any of its schools or subdivisions for any purpose except with Global Ministries prior written approval and in accordance with any restrictions required by Global Ministries. These are the property of Global Ministries or are subject to rights to use, duplicate, or represent/communicate to the public that have been granted to such.

Global Ministries is the producer of databases on the Community Website and Global Ministries is the owner of any databases made available. The User shall not extract or reuse a substantial qualitative or quantitative portion of the databases, including for private purposes.

7.2. USER’S RIGHT OF USE

Global Ministries grants the User a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use the Service for User’s personal, non-commercial purposes. The User may only use the Community Website on devices that the User owns or controls and as permitted by the Apple and Google App Stores terms of service. The User may use the Service and the Service Content only in the manner and for the purposes specified in these Terms of Use. Except as specifically permitted by these Terms of Use, User may not modify, transmit, produce, distribute, display, sell, license, broadcast, or otherwise make available, in any form or by any means, any part of the Service or the Service Content without the express written permission of Global Ministries.

In connection with the use of the Services and Service Content or User’s Content, the User is not authorized to, and cannot allow a third party to:

• Violate any applicable laws, rules or regulations, notably cause damage or injury to any person or property, infringe any rights of third parties including but not limited to any intellectual property rights and privacy rights, or perform any other illegal, harmful or fraudulent activities;
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system or network;
• Remove, circumvent, disable, damage, or otherwise interfere with any security measures of any network, computer or communications system, software application, or network or computing device;
• Attempt to connect without permission and/or damage, in any way whatsoever, any users, hosts or networks;
• Disturb, hamper, interfere, or interrupt the access to or operation of the Service and Service Content, including by transmitting any worms, viruses, spyware, malware or any other code of a destructive or disruptive nature.

8. USER’S UNDERTAKING

The User represents and warrants that they retain ownership of all of their intellectual property rights in the User Content or that this User Content is subject to a license granted to the User by a third party holding these rights, under conditions allowing the User to freely use and/or transfer these elements for the purpose of using the Service, under the conditions described in the Terms and Conditions. Global Ministries does not claim ownership of the User Content.

The User holds Global Ministries harmless from all claims or actions brought by third parties on the grounds of an infringement of their rights, including, without limitation, publicity rights, copyrights, trademark and/or other intellectual property rights, or privacy rights in the User Content.

By using the Service, the User represents and warrants that they have the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms of Use in the User’s jurisdiction.

The User warrants to be at least 18 years of age or older, an emancipated minor, or possess legal parental or guardian consent, and is fully competent to use the Service and to enter into and comply with these Terms of Use. If the User is age 14-17, they must obtain verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian. The parent or legal guardian shall be able to provide consent to their child’s use of the Service and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use concerning their child’s use of the Service. Persons aged 13 years old or younger are not authorized to access the Service. 

9. USER’S RULES OF CONDUCT

Generally, the User is committed to use the Services in accordance with the following guidelines made available to the User prior to account creation:

It is our common understanding that the use of this platform is grounded in the values articulated in “Community of All Creation,” 2024 Social Principles, and “Caring for Creation: A Call to Stewardship and Justice,” 2024 Book of Resolutions, #1033.

We respectfully request that all Creation Care network members adhere to these guiding principles:

1. Posted content will relate to Creation Care ministry

2. Posted content will be relevant to the subject of the platform area in which it is posted

3. People of all races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities and socioeconomic locations are welcome

4. Users will engage one another with curiosity, grace and respect

5. No fundraising activities will be conducted on the platform

6. Global Ministries reserves the right to remove inappropriate content or members not adhering to these guidelines and/or the network terms of use.

The Creation Care Network is open to members of The United Methodist Church, United Methodist agency staff and established ministry partners.

Additionally, the Users may not post content which includes, but is not limited to: (i) sexually explicit materials; (ii) obscene, misleading, libelous, slanderous, violent, hateful and/or unlawful content or profanity; (iii) content that infringes upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary right, or that is deceptive or fraudulent; (iv) content that promotes the use or sale of illegal or regulated substances, tobacco products, ammunition and/or firearms; and (v) gambling, including without limitation, any online casino, sports books, bingo or poker (“Objectionable Content”) via the Service.

The User may not defame, stalk, bully, abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate, or intimidate people or entities. The Users must not post private or confidential information via the Service, including, without limitation, the User’s or any other person’s credit card information, social security or alternate national identity numbers, non-public phone numbers, or non-public email addresses.

The User must not create accounts with the Service through unauthorized means, including but not limited to, using an automated device, script, bot, spider, crawler or scraper.

The User must not attempt to restrict another User from using or enjoying the Service and must not encourage or facilitate violations of these Terms of Service. 

The User may only make non-commercial uses of the Service and Service Content. Use of Service or the Service Content for any commercial purpose is strictly prohibited. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to: (1) activities that are illegal or fraudulent; (2) use that inaccurately implies endorsement, approval, or sponsorship by Global Ministries (or any individual officer or employee of Global Ministries); (3) use that can be confused with official communications of Global Ministries or its officers or employees; and (4) print or electronic mass mailings (sometimes known as “spamming”), solicitations for commercial services.

10. REPORTING AND MODERATION

In order to ensure the Community Website provides the best experience possible for everyone, if a User sees any inappropriate content, they must use the “Report as offensive” feature found under each post.

Global Ministries has no general obligation to monitor User Content nor to investigate whether facts or circumstances are revealing illicit activities. Global Ministries has set up a reporting tool allowing any User to notify illegal, abusive and harmful content.

The knowledge of such content is deemed effective when the hosting provider is notified of following:

• The notification date;
• The notifying User identity;
• The description of the facts in contention (possibly with screen shots of the content);
• he reasons for which the content must be removed.

If a User Content is reported, Global Ministries reserves the right to withdraw the reported content and/or suspend or terminate the User Account of the User who originally published the reported content, in the conditions set forth in Article 11.2

11. Termination, suspension, or revocation of access

11.1 Deletion of the User Account by the User

At any time, the User may delete their User Account by contacting Global Ministries at the address or email address mentioned in Article 15.

Deletion is effective immediately, and all the data collected as well as the content published by the User on the Community Website is deleted after a period of two business days.

11.2 Suspension or termination of the User Account by Global Ministries in case of breach of the Terms of Use

Global Ministries retains the right to suspend User’s access to the Service to conduct all necessary investigations following a report made pursuant to Article 10 or in case of a presumed breach of Terms of Use, which may be remediated. The User whose User Account is suspended will be informed by Global Ministries of such a decision via email. The User has the option of sending an email to Global Ministries to obtain additional information on the reasons for the suspension and to provide explanations and/or any element to demonstrate that the breach has been remedied. If the violation of Terms of Use is not remedied within five (5) business days from suspension notification, Global Ministries reserves the right to terminate the applicable User’s Account and the User’s right to use the Service, in addition to any other rights or remedies available. 

11.3 Deletion of inactive User Account

Global Ministries may delete inactive accounts after a continuous period of two years of inactivity on the Community Website. The User will be informed by email of the deletion of their account, subject to prior notice of two weeks allowing the User to object to such deletion.

12. Privacy; Confidentiality

By using the Service, the User’s personal data, as defined by Data Protection Laws, may be collected and processed by Global Ministries, in compliance with the Global Ministries Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy (collectively, the “Privacy Policies”). 

Global Ministries will treat User Content as confidential information in accordance with these Terms of Use and the Privacy Policies.  

13. Limitation of Warranty and Liability; Assumption of Risk; and Indemnification. 

Disclaimer of Warranties: The Services are provided “as is” and “as available,” without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Global Ministries does not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, nor does it make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the Services.

Global Ministries is not responsible for the User’s device compatibility or any issues preventing the User from connecting due to any technical problems related to the Internet network or failures in the User’s computer facilities and equipment.

Global Ministries shall not be responsible for the User’s System or any problems arising from or related to the User’s System or caused by the Internet. The User is responsible for the security of the User System and the security of its access to and connection with the Services.

Except as explicitly stated in Article 10, any document, information, data, or elements available via the Service, including User Content (“Information”), is provided without any guarantees, including comprehensiveness or accuracy.

Assumption of Risk: The User is solely responsible for all User Content posted and assumes all risks relating to its use by others and others’ reliance on its accuracy. The User acknowledges that, following the publication of the any content, their information will become accessible to all the Users on the Community Website. As such, the same information will be published, modified, translated, reproduced in any form and accessible, saved and reproduced by other Users and Global Ministries. Global Ministries will have no responsibility or liability in connection with the User Content.

The User is solely responsible for the use of the Information and bears all risks arising from and related to their reliance on this Information. The Information is provided on the understanding and condition that the User can determine its suitability for a specific purpose before use. Under no circumstances does Global Ministries accept liability for any injury arising from reliance on the said Information, its use, or the use of a product to which it refers.

Limitation of Liability: In no event shall Global Ministries be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including, without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from (a) the use or inability to use the Services; (b) any unauthorized access to or use of our servers and/or any personal information stored therein; (c) any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Services; (d) any bugs, viruses, trojan horses, or the like that may be transmitted to or through the Services by any third party; (e) any errors or omissions in any content or for any loss or damage incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available through the Services, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), or any other legal theory, whether or not Global Ministries has been informed of the possibility of such damages; and (f) any events of any kind that may occur during any meeting organized between Users through the use of the Services.

Waiver and Hold Harmless: The User agrees to waive any claims against Global Ministries and hold Global Ministries, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates, harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that arise from or relate to (a) the User’s use or misuse of, or access to, the Services; (b) violation of these Terms of Use; (c) violation of any rights of a third party, including without limitation any intellectual property or privacy right; or (d) any claim that User Content caused damage to a third party. This waiver and hold harmless obligation will survive the termination of the User’s account and these Terms of Use.

Indemnification: The User agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Global Ministries, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) that arise from or relate to (a) the User’s use or misuse of, or access to, the Services; (b) violation of these Terms of Use; (c) violation of any rights of a third party, including without limitation any intellectual property or privacy right; or (d) any claim that User Content caused damage to a third party. This indemnity obligation will survive the termination of the User’s account and these Terms of Use.

14. Hypertext links

The Community Website may provide links to websites operated by third parties or other internet sources/networks, as well as data/information coming from third-party servers. Global Ministries does not endorse or accept responsibility for the content or the use of third-party websites and cannot be held liable for any damage following or in relation with use or the fact of having trusted the content/data/results available on such third-party servers, external sources or internet sites.

If a User accesses or uses third-party sites or content from third-party servers, User does so solely at the User’s own risk. Such links do not imply that Global Ministries is affiliated or associated with any linked site.

15. Contact

For any questions regarding the Terms of Use, especially use of the Service or any claim, please send an email to info@umcmission.org or post it at the following address: Global Ministries, 458 Ponce de Leon Avenue NE, Building A, Suite 1, Atlanta, Georgia 30308.

The User can use these contact details for any technical support request.

16. Miscellaneous 

Governing Law and Jurisdiction. These Terms of Use and any disputes arising out of or related to them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia, United States of America, without regard to its conflict of law principles. The User agrees to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America, for the resolution of any disputes.

Modification of Terms of Use.  Global Ministries reserves the right to modify these Terms of Use at any time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting on the website. The User’s continued use of this Service or any Service Content after the new version of the Terms of Use enters into force will constitute the acceptance of the modified Terms of Use. If the User disagrees with such modification of the Terms of Use, the User may terminate the Service and delete their User Account under the conditions set forth in Article 11.

Service Development and Modification. Global Ministries reserves the right to develop, modify, or discontinue the Service or the Service Content at its sole discretion. Significant changes that may affect the User will be communicated as deemed necessary by Global Ministries.

Severability; Entire Agreement. Except in the case of invalidity of an essential clause, if any provision of these Terms of Use is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision, to the extent unenforceable, shall be struck, and shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions.  These Terms of Use, including the Privacy Policies, set forth the entire understanding and agreement between the User and Global Ministries with respect to the subject matter hereof.  

Convention of proof. Electronic documents exchanged by electronic means between the User and the Global Ministries shall be regarded as writings having the same probative force as writings on paper in the meaning of applicable law. They may constitute faithful and durable copies in accordance with applicable law, so that the User is invited to keep them.

Force majeure. Global Ministries shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where the failure results from a force majeure event, including, without limitation, mechanical, electronic, or communications failure or degradation.

No Waiver: The failure of Global Ministries to enforce any right or provision of these terms will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision.

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