Dear Friends,

This Christmas season we are writing from Princeton, New Jersey, where we are on a study leave at Princeton Theological Seminary. Tom is in the Ph.D. program in practical theology/Christian education and Carol is in the M.A. program in Christian education. We are grateful to be home for our first Christmas since 1992. We left Japan in mid-July. Before moving into our seminary apartment in September, we visited family in New Jersey and Massachusetts and helped our son Paul, 18, get settled into his new life as a student at Bowdoin College in Maine. Our daughter Rose, 20, is spending a year in Austin, Texas, working at a restaurant and supporting herself while she tries to discern her vocation. That leaves us with two children at home, Sarah, 15, who’s a sophomore in high school, and Katie, 6, who’s a kindergartner. Everyone seems to be making a very good transition from life in Tokyo. We are heartened to see that sushi can be purchased almost anywhere in the U.S.—one of the blessings of globalization!

Just after returning to the States, our home church in Cape May, New Jersey, sponsored a presentation by two Japanese survivors of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tom helped translate at that meeting, and we were again shocked at the horror of those bombings and our common longing for peace in a broken world. It was a very moving night.

In early September, Tom presented a report on interviews he had conducted with Japanese Christian youth over the past year for the Princeton Project on Globalization, Youth and Religion. He discovered that the three things these youth are most worried about are: the destruction of the environment, war, and the human spiritual condition. One young woman said, "Things have been gradually slipping in a wrong direction for a long time, but I sense that they have recently reached sort of a critical state of slippage." Concerning the churches they attend, they said they’d like them to be "more welcoming and attractive to young people," "more intentional in teaching the Bible," and "more open to the world." These longings challenge all of our churches to seek to be places where our youth may feel loved by God’s people, inspired by God’s word and empowered to be God’s witnesses.

About a week before we left Japan, Tom’s students at Tokyo Union Theological Seminary held a farewell barbeque for our family. We sang and ate together and many students expressed their appreciation for Tom’s ministry at the seminary. It was particularly encouraging because it was such an informal and open time of sharing, in contrast to the more formal events which usually mark the seminary calendar. One of the students, Yuki Shimada, was also preparing to leave for the United States. She is now studying at Union Seminary in New York for a year and is applying to Princeton for the Ph.D. program in Christian ethics. She’s a bright young woman with a lot of potential. Please pray that Yuki will eventually be able to make a contribution in Japan where we desperately need women theologians.

One final note on Japan—our translations of the PC(USA)’s "First Catechism" and the "Study Catechism" will be published jointly soon. The Japanese churches have shown a great interest in these catechisms. Please pray that they would be used to help equip the people of God.

Meanwhile, here in Princeton, we are both studying hard and enjoying it immensely. We’re looking forward to having our whole family together at Christmas. May God’s peace and reconciling love be with each of you, your families, your churches and God’s world. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support for us and for the Japanese churches.

Love in Christ,

Tom, Carol, Rose, Paul, Sarah and Katie Hastings

The 2000 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.172