Hello everyone!

I am Annika, studying at Otago for a BTheol majoring in Christian Thought and History. This is my first paper in Pastoral Studies. I grew up in the German Democratic Republic and have been living in Hamilton, New Zealand, for seven years. I did not have a church background. However, several years down the track I find myself at St Peter's Cathedral in Hamilton helping out as a liturgist, reader, server... I hope to learn in this paper how to approach people with different beliefs and histories and how to find a common language to communicate despite different cultural backgrounds and expectations.