sponsored by Immigration Welcoming Working Group

Julie Otsuka’s novel When the Emperor Was Divine and Stephen Holsapple’s (Director) and Satsuki Ina, Ph.D.’s (Producer/Project Director) Children of the Camps examine Japanese internment, family separation, and their aftermath. We will discuss these artworks alongside current journalism and documentaries on immigration and families. Separation, incarceration, deported parents, and government policy are all possibilities. What positions did the church and citizens take regarding Japanese internment? How might this inform our calling as church members and citizens today?

Joan Thompson, Ph.D. –Retired English Professor with a focus on American multicultural and multiethnic literatures
Seth Patterson, MFA and MDiv.–Minister of Spiritual Formation and Theater