Nine priests standing upright in Hans Egede’s Church wearing black robes.
In the middle of them, kneels a woman in a long, white robe. The priests place their right hands on her head.
The kneeling woman is Sanja Kristiansen, mother of two.
– It felt as if we were in the presence of something bigger, she says later.
The unpredictability of life
Sanja Kristiansen’s encounter with the unpredictability of life began already at her birth. When her mother was pregnant with her, she was told by the doctor that both she and the child could risk dying during childbirth. It was due to an accident where the ship “Sapangaq” ran aground on the way from Qaqortoq to Nanortalik, and her mother was thrown against a table, which she hit with her stomach.
Fortunately, both mother and child survived without injury.
– The intensity and unpredictability of life began already there, says Sanja moved.
Childhood in Kuummiut
Sanja spent her childhood in, among other places, Maniitsoq, Paamiut and Kuummiut. When she had just started primary school, the family moved to Kuummiut. Here she entered a completely new world.
– The children in Kuummiut were very interested in us, who came from outside. They gave us necklaces and small earrings and surrounded us. We quickly became friends and had fun together, she says.
At first, she did not understand the East Greenlandic language.
– I couldn’t understand them and I didn’t like it when they laughed. I thought they were making fun of me and I cried to my mother. Later I found out that they actually liked me, she says.
Later she learned East Greenlandic, and she and her older brother spoke it at home so their parents could not understand them. However, the parents found out later and were able to follow along.
The family had three dogs in East Greenland. When her dog, Milak, died, she and her brother drove with the other two dogs to the fjord, sometimes very far away.
– When I was a child, we went dog sledding, just the two of us. It’s incredible how much trust our parents had in us. We drove to the fjord ourselves with two dogs, says Sanja Kristiansen.
Language, loss and separation
The family later returned to Nanortalik, where her parents separated. When she started school there, she discovered that her classmates could speak Danish, while she herself could not.
– When I got home, I told my mother that she should start speaking Danish to me, she says.
She later went on a school stay in Roskilde, where she lived with a Danish family.
– My foster parents taught us Danish, and because they had a blackboard, I quickly learned adjectives. We only spoke Danish, she says.
The teenage years were difficult, especially when her father moved back to Qaqortoq.
– It was very hard. I felt that part of my identity disappeared and I became very confused, she says.
She was close to her father. Along with her older brother, she used to go fishing trips with him on Sundays while her mother went to church.
– When my parents divorced, everything changed. My father moved and I felt empty inside, she says.
Today she has accepted the divorce.
– Now I can understand it. At the time I couldn’t, but today they are good friends and look after their grandchildren together.
A new direction in life
After primary school, she went to secondary school in Denmark to learn how to fend for herself.
– I had a hard time with even small things, like cooking. I remember that I had difficulty making pasta, but the chef helped me and in the end I succeeded, she says with a laugh.
As a young woman, she was unsure of what she wanted. She began training as a dental clinic assistant, but did not complete it.
However, when she became pregnant with her daughter, her life changed significantly.
– I got tired of the life I was living. I started listening to myself and decided to do away with my fear, she says.
After the birth of her daughter, she resumed her secondary education in Nuuk.
A dream from childhood
Her grandfather was a janitor at the church in Nanortalik, and she often went to church with her grandparents in both Nanortalik and Qaqortoq.
– When I visited my grandparents, I often pretended that I held a service as a priest, she says with a smile.
The road to becoming a priest
After high school, she began studying theology.
– It was hard, but I felt that it was the right thing for me.
The degree normally takes three years, but due to her pregnancy, it took her five years to complete it.
After her studies, she did not immediately choose to become a priest.
– I am a sensitive person. You have to be strong when working with people, and I needed time to develop myself and get to know myself better while my children were growing up, she explains.
She then worked as a therapist, among other things at Allorfik, and later as a support person for young people at the Kofoedskolen in Naput.
Faith as a foundation in life
Faith has always been an important part of her life.
– Every night I pray the Lord’s Prayer because my mother taught me. At the time I took it for granted, but today those memories mean a lot to me, she says.
She has passed the tradition on to her children.
– My son knew the Lord’s Prayer already when he was five years old. What you learn as a child follows you throughout your life.
Hope is important.
– I find comfort in my faith, she adds.
A special experience at the appointment
When she was invited by the congregation in Maniitsoq to become a priest, she asked for strength and not to get nervous.
– As the appointment approached, I could not sleep. Maybe because I was excited, but I felt full of energy. The morning I was to be prescribed, I woke up without much sleep. It must be because the prayers I had asked for strength were answered, says Sanja calmly.
Her childhood dream of becoming a priest thus became a reality. As a child, she played priest in front of her grandparents’ house, and today she holds services for the congregation.
– Of course I was touched when we sang the hymn I had chosen for my grandfather’s funeral. It was while I was kneeling, she says moved.
– The experience was quite special. When the priests laid their hands on me and prayed for me, I could feel that I was filled with a strong and positive energy. It felt like a great force was present. It was fantastic. It was the first time in my life that I experienced it so strongly, says Sanja Kristiansen.
Becomes a priest in Maniitsoq
Sanja Kristiansen and her children, who have lived in Nuuk for eleven years, will now move to Maniitsoq, where she will work as a priest.
– It is hard for my children to have to move from Nuuk. These days we say goodbye to their friends. I hope they make new friends in Maniitsoq soon. I look forward to getting there and look forward to it, she says with both emotion and anticipation.
Newly trained pastors who have left their hometowns to begin their ministry have told her that it is a personal and memorable learning experience.
– It will also be difficult to leave what you know, but what else can you do, says Sanja Kristiansen with a laugh.
