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Madeleine Vessel Diocese of Las Cruces Las Cruces, NM 88011 Cell: 575-644-7290
 * WordPress Website for the Permanent Deacons in the Diocese of Las Cruces **

For my Digital Discipleship Boot Camp (DDBC) project, I constructed a WordPress website for the permanent deacons of the Diocese of Las Cruces, which is located in the southern region of New Mexico.

The idea to create a permanent deacon website arose from my friendship with Father Michael Cerretto, CSB, Co-Director of the Deacon Formation Program, my personal association with the Deacon Formation Program (I once gave deacon candidates a lecture on how to lector), and my membership on the Deacon Advisory Board.

When I explained my idea to Father Michael, he immediately approved. For him, the proposed website was in line with what Rome has been urging, had the potential to build community among the permanent deacons, and promised to be an asset to deacons in formation by providing distance-learning opportunities. In addition because we are friends, he desired to help me complete my DDBC Capstone project.

This positive response led to a meeting with Deacon Bob Brotherton, Director of Deacon Personnel; Deacon Louis A. Román, Director of Deacon Formation; Father Michael Cerretto; Christy Anchondo, the editor and graphic artist in charge of //Agua Viva//, the diocese newspaper, and David McNamara, who is in charge of education and formation in the diocese.

The group attentively listened to my proposal to develop a WordPress website. After discussion, the consensus was that the price of the proposed website was acceptable--$300 @ year, that the project, if successful, could lead to similar solutions for other diocesan programs, and that I was the right person to take on the project since I was in DDBC.


 * Defining the Website’s Purpose, Subject, and Audience **

To start the project, I, along with Deacon Bob Brotherton, Deacon Louis A. Román, and Father Michael Cerretto formed a committee to identify the following objectives for the website: purpose, subject, and audience.


 * // Purpose //**

When considering the purpose of the website, we asked ourselves, how do we want to serve our visitors? The following (quoted from the home page) is our answer to this question:

We are the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Deacons’ Community. Our website, LC Deacon Roundtable, is a meeting place for permanent deacons and deacons in formation, where we hope to


 * encourage dialogue, mutual support, understanding, and collaboration among deacons, priests, and all people in meeting the needs of the diocese.


 * promote the spiritual, ministerial, and cultural enrichment of the deacons and to encourage their ongoing formation.


 * create a greater awareness among the deacons of the needs of the diocese.


 * raise the consciousness of deacons in regard to social justice and to assist with the implementation of programs in response to needs.


 * ensure adequate involvement of deacons in the making of decisions and policies, which affect their diaconal life and ministry.

It also is a place where educators and inquirers who are interested in learning more about the vocation and ministries of the permanent diaconate can find assistance.


 * // Subject //**

When thinking about content for the website, we asked ourselves, what kind of information do we want to provide our visitors and how do we want to present it? To answer this question, I researched other deacon program websites and presented the results to the committee. Together, we selected categories of information that best suited our purpose. Then I constructed a menu bar to reflect the categories.


 * Home page – Text identifying the purpose of the website


 * About Us page – Text and digital images identifying the permanent deacons and their ministries


 * Resources page – Text and links to provide permanent deacons with continuing education opportunities


 * Formation page – Text to provide information about the deacon vocation, a reading list for deacons in formation, and a link to a virtual classroom (A wikispace wiki is planned.)


 * Events page – A calendar of events of interest to permanent deacons and deacons in formation


 * Contact Us page – Contact information visitors need to communicate with the Director of Deacon Personnel and the Director of Deacon Formation


 * En Español – Resources in Spanish

There is the potential to create a blog on the website, but this has not been approved. None of the deacons have that interest at this time.


 * // Audience //**

To identify our website’s audience, we asked ourselves, who will benefit from the information we want to provide and how experienced are they navigating a website?

After some deliberation, we identified permanent deacons as the website’s primary audience, deacons in formation as the secondary audience, and inquirers into the deacon program, catechists, and others as tertiary audiences.

We determined that the primary audience had limited experience in using digital forms of communication and would need some training to make full use of the website.

We also concluded that deacon candidates, who typically are over the age of 50, would also benefit from training.


 * Launching the Website **

Once we identified our objectives, we were ready to launch the website. I had hoped that the committee would want to participate in this activity, but they preferred to defer to my judgment. The process I used is the following:


 * 1) Select a software package to construct the site. I chose WordPress because it is inexpensive and easy to use. In future, with proper training, one of the deacons should be able to take over web master duties.
 * 2) Register a domain name. The committee agreed to adopt the domain name, lcdeaconroundtable, which was available, so I registered it with Domain Discover. I had used this company before and had been happy with my experience.
 * 3) Find a web host. I chose Bluehost because it is economical and has an excellent reputation for hosting WordPress sites.

If I had to walk through this start-up process again, I probably would streamline by purchasing both a domain name and hosting from Bluehost. They provide both services at a very low price.


 * Populating the Website **

Once we had defined objectives for and launched the website, [|www.lcdeaconroundtable.org], we began to think about content. This, so far, includes mostly text that I composed, some digital images, and links to other websites.

I presently am striving to edit a pre-existing set of training videos and trying to gain permission from video participants to make the videos suitable and legally usable on the website. This is proving to be very time-consuming, and in the end, the videos may not be satisfactory for posting. Time will tell.

The website has been in development for three months, and it is coming along nicely. Clearly, it has the potential to become a central meeting place and a wonderful resource for the deacons. I think it also will become an important resource for inquirers and catechists and, thus, an important instrument for evangelization.


 * Recommendations for Doing a Similar Capstone Project **

For anyone considering doing a similar DDBC Capstone project, I would recommend the following:


 * Select a program for which you wish to construct a website that has at least one member who is willing to take over web master duties when you are ready to move on. Right now, I still have not been able to identify a deacon willing to maintain the website after I complete construction.
 * Encourage program representatives to work with you on a committee to make choices about the nature and function of the proposed website.
 * Begin your project by defining the website’s purpose, subject, and audience.
 * Choose a host that can also register your domain name. This will save you steps and money.
 * Create videos specifically for use on the website, and make sure you have permission from all video participants to publish the videos before posting them.[1]
 * Post text composed by another only after obtaining the author’s permission.[2]
 * Link to other websites only with permission.[3]


 * Conclusion **

When I reflect on my DDBC Capstone experience, I realize that I have come a long way in a very short time in becoming a digital landscape pioneer. Not only that, I also am encouraging new pioneers. For now, I am in the process of fostering digital immigration of permanent deacons, but who knows whom else I will be influencing in the future? Only God knows.

[1] [] [2] http://www.copyrightlaws.com/digital/10-0-digital-copyright-issues/ [3] []