Group 1: History – Our Daily Bread
Our group was particularly intrigued by the history of the family in the video meditation. Since dialogue was sparse throughout the film, we as audience members had to infer much about their history in terms of traditions, background, heritage, and current history. The skill and ease with which they navigated the farmland showed us that they have farmed for a while, and we assumed that it was generational occupation since the work was tended by everyone from the young teenager to the graying matriarch.
While the first portion of the film was narrated by Spanish, when the young teenagers cleaned up and went into town for ice cream, they spoke English. Kari noted that the trip to town for ice cream on Saturday may be a new ritual they have picked up since moving to Michigan. We wondered as a group how the family’s narrative was affected by their relocating to Michigan. What does their current story/present history look like? How does it differ with what they experienced before the relocation?
Stephanie directed our conversation to the role of churches in established communities in connecting with people and groups from other cultures. Stephanie wrote, “The church is to welcome all people with open arms and show Christ’s love to all. Does the church really do this?”

We discussed how difficult it can be, especially for established rural communities in the Midwest, to open themselves to immigrant populations. It’s difficult for more traditional churches to face change, and it’s difficult for smaller ethnic groups to know how to integrate themselves into such established communities. Kevin noted how the video meditation helped him see how hard migrant workers are really working to integrate, which dispels the myth that they’re not trying to integrate.
Kari noted that integration might not be as difficult a task as we think. She noted that there are strong parallels between our own Norwegian (and Swedish) American Lutheran roots and Mexican culture. For example, as Maryanne noted, food and family are very important in the Latino community – along with singing and dancing. God is the center of this family’s work and life. The same can be said of Scandinavian Lutheran culture in the Midwest. Kari wrote, “I think there is far more that unites than divides us. I suspect sharing our histories with one another may be a key to overcoming some of the difficulties we have in integrating rural communities.”
Similarly, Rebecca noted that the Colorado piece was especially helpful in navigating the roadblocks to listening to the history of someone else’s culture and heritage. She wrote, “One way we can overcome our fear is to learn and get to know someone else’s culture. I think this is what Mary Boy means between knowing and doing. The goal of “Who is my Neighbor?” piece is to assess what is one’s prior knowledge or assumption of what immigration is and looks like.
Our cultures, language, and heritage may diverse and very different, but we also have a common culture, heritage and possible language as children of God. Maryanne noted that it’s important to recognize that God is a part of our daily lives, whoever we are or wherever we may be.

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