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Elissa Martinez
Ms. Bradley
ENC 2135
04 February 2016
Peer Ministry Community
A community extremely committed to and involved in accomplishing their
mission is the Peer Ministry Team at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. The Peer Ministry
Team at OLLA commits to its mission by communicating through different genres of
communication, such as informative and persuasive genres. Ways that this community
communicates involves the use of Social Media, group messaging, the Bible, Mass,
flyers, and commercial broadcasts.
The Peer Ministry Team is a group composed of dedicated students who give
witness to their faith by planning, conducting and leading retreat experiences for other
students (Lourdes Academy). These students attend Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, an
all-girls Catholic high school in Miami, where they put forth their religious mission of
sharing the values and teachings associated with the Roman Catholic faith. These
students are known as devoted and dedicated because they take time out of their daily
lives and schedules towards this community to instill the students at OLLA different ways
as to how they can strengthen their relationship with Christ. Among one of the ways Peer
Ministry does this is by organizing and participating in Encounter. Encounter is a threeday retreat filled with prayer and spiritual reflections, where each member of Peer
Ministry is required to give a talk on a specific topic regarding a struggle with their faith
and how they have overcome it. The lives of the students at OLLA may become hectic, as

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they have commitments outside of school such as family, sports, college applications, and
many other personal responsibilities. The girls may become sidetracked and drift away
from Christ. Thus, it is the Peer Ministry communitys duty to guide the ladies of OLLA
to stay on track with their Catholic faith and values while balancing their school and
personal life at the same time. Peer Ministry does this by offering retreats, such as
Encounter, to the students.
In order for the community of Peer Ministry to execute its mission successfully, it
must communicate effectively. The Peer Ministry community OLLA connects using
several different genres of communication. According to the Bedford Book of Genres, A
genre is defined as a compositions kind, category, or sort. Among the many genres and
types of communication that exist in society today, the Peer Ministry community utilizes
informative and persuasive genres.
One of the effective forms of communication Peer Ministry uses that is
informative is Social Media. The Peer Ministry Team uses Facebook primarily to share
posts of photos of the events they have organized throughout the school year. The
directors of the Peer Ministry community, Sister Carmen and Father Ireneusz, typically
post the pictures and statuses on the Peer Ministry Facebook page. This form of
communication is primarily visual and digital as mostly photos are posted illustrating the
events the members of this community partake in, such as retreats and fundraisers. For
example, on the Facebook page there would be pictures of the members preparing for the
Encounter retreat and members participating in our monthly car washes to benefit the
homeless in Miami. The Peer Ministry directors also upload pictures of inspirational
biblical verses every Sunday to start off the week. The use of ethos as a rhetorical appeal

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is evident through this use of Social Media because it comes from the leaders of the Peer
Ministry community. In general, the use of Social Media as a form of communication is
effective because most of all of the members of Peer Ministry have and use Facebook. It
is also a practical way to share photos that depict the mission this community is actively
executing to other users on Facebook.
Another informative form of communication that is used among the Peer Ministry
community is E-mail. Every week, Sister Noreen and Father Ireneusz notify the Peer
Ministers of the upcoming events that are to take place. For example, the E-Mails are
digital and text-based reminders to Peer Minsters of future fundraisers, the times mass
will take place the upcoming week, when they would have to meet up with personally to
discuss ideas for the next school retreat, and topics for talks on retreats. With the use of
E-Mail, the Peer Ministry members are also able to notify the directors if they are not
able to attend that weeks meeting, ask any questions they might have, and share and
offer new ideas for events and retreats. This form of communication is certainly the most
professional out of all, since members are expected to contact the directors in a respectful
tone. The E-Mails contain the use of logos since they contain correct facts and
information regarding the community and the events that the Peer Ministry members are
expected to become involved in. This form of communication includes ethos as well,
since the E-Mails that are sent to the members from the community are from the
authoritative leaders. Overall, the use of email is a very practical and professional form of
communication that informs and updates the community of Peer Ministry at OLLA on
any important information.

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Another informative type of communication that is widely used in the Peer
Ministry community is the use of group messaging. The use of group messaging as a
form of communication is extremely favorable, since the majority of the community
owns iPhones themselves. It is also a quick and effective way to contact other members
of the Peer Ministry community. With group chats, the Peer Minsters could send quick
reminders to a group of members instantly. The group chats could also be more
established and have group names. With these more established group chats, the Peer
Minsters are able to discuss ideas on the talks that they are assigned to give on retreats,
offer detailed advise to each other on important topics, and get to know each member on
a more personal level. They are also certainly effective in gaining feedback from the
other members of this community. Group messages as a form of communication is much
more personal and casual as opposed to E-mail, because it is only among the members of
Peer Ministry and excludes any of the authoritative members of Peer Ministry. Through
the use of group chats, the community is able to become closer and learn more about each
other. With regards to this form of communication, the Peer Ministry community at
OLLA can become more interlocked and become better members their community.
A text-based form of communication used throughout the community is the Bible.
The Bible is the basis of the Catholic faith, and the Peer Ministry community is
responsible for spreading the Bibles teachings to the students at OLLA. The Bible is a
way of informing Peer Ministers of the values of the Christian faith that God taught his
community so that they may do the same to the students of OLLA. The Bible is an
evident print form of communication because the Peer Minsters and the authoritative
directors use certain Bible verses to teach an important lesson or value on the retreats

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they give to the students. The Bible is also a historical account that conveys Gods work,
so it informs the community of the historical context on the religion they are giving
witness to at OLLA and in their daily lives. The Bible includes the rhetorical appeals of
ethos and pathos. It contains ethos because it is considered to be a credible source of the
teachings of Jesus written by those who witnessed it. The Bible also includes the appeal
of pathos because it tells the teachings and miracles of Christ, which may evoke emotion.
Overall due to its centrality to the Catholic faith, the Bible is an important form of
communication the Peer Ministry practices.
A face- to-face form of communication that Peer Ministry executes is through the
practice of Roman Catholic mass. Mass is offered to the community of the school
including the Peer Ministry community. Mass is also a central part of the Catholic faith
this community pertains to. During Mass, the community communicates through prayer,
song, and bible verses. The community also comes together to celebrate the Liturgy and
to receive the Eucharist. This genre of communication is effective in informing the
community of Minsters on how they can spread their faith to those who have lost it and to
help not only themselves but others on how their relationship with Christ. The rhetorical
appeals evident in this form of communication are ethos and pathos. Pathos is evident
because as the community as a whole in mass becomes touched by the teachings that are
taught at mass. As a part of the Peer Ministry community, it is a Peer Ministers goal to
uphold the teachings taught during mass and promote them. Overall, through the use of
Mass, Peer Minsters are taught how to become better leaders in the community and how
to execute its mission in a way that upholds the values and morals of the Catholic faith.

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There are even more other ways as to how the Peer Ministry community can
communicate effectively, including the use of persuasive genres. This includes the use of
flyers and school-wide television commercial broadcasts as common types of
communication. These two forms of communication do the exact same as the other
genres of communication, which is to inform the community on upcoming events and
news. Even though they have the same purpose as the other types of communication such
as E-Mail and Social Media, what separates these forms from the others is the fact that
they are unique and creative. Not only are these forms of communication effective in
informing the Peer Ministry community of important information regarding themselves,
but the flyers and TV broadcasts are effective in persuading those who are not involved in
Peer Ministry to join this community. The flyers and TV commercials that are
broadcasted are visual and are seen by the entire student body. These two forms of
communication inform non-members how to join and what Peer Ministry and its mission
is all about. The flyers and TV broadcasts both contain logos since they usually have
valid information and facts on the community. They both also contain ethos because they
are valid sources that explain what the Peer Ministry community does and accomplishes.
This form of communication is effective because it informs the community and it is
easily seen school wide by non-members and persuades them to get involved and join this
community.
Ultimately, in order for the community of Peer Ministry at OLLA to uphold its
mission, it communicates using informative and persuasive genres such as Social Media,
group messaging, the Bible, Mass, flyers, and TV commercial broadcasts. The dedicated
students of the Peer Ministry community are set out to help the students at OLLA

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strengthen their relationship with Christ by organizing and participating in the spiritual
events this community offers such as retreats. Although it seems as if these retreats and
are only meant to affect the students at OLLA, they also affect the members of the
community. Through giving the talks, the Peer Ministers share personal experiences.
These talks may affect and touch a student because they may have experienced the same
thing. By sharing their experiences, their relationship with God may be strengthened just
as much as the students they are telling their stories to. Since Encounter is typically a
three-day long retreat, Peer Minsters teach the OLLA girls to Live The Fourth and
continue to carry with them what they have experienced from Encounter into their daily
lives.
With the forms of communication that Peer Ministry uses, they communicate
among themselves in order to make these spiritual experiences impactful for themselves
and the students at OLLA. Many friendships have also evolved from retreats and simply
becoming a part of the Peer Ministry community. The community can give credit to these
effective forms of communication in order to say what needs to be said so that a lasting
impact is made from a retreat or fundraiser for the homeless. The feedback the
community receives from organizing and leading these spiritual retreats is always
positive, and as a result the students recommend other students to participate in the same
retreats. Without the new forms of communication that exist in todays society such as
group messaging and Facebook, the Peer Ministry would not be able to fulfill its mission
and impact themselves and the girls at OLLA.