Dear Friends and Supporters,

We send our greetings and love in Christ to you all. Thank you for your letters, prayers, and financial support this past year. We have been so grateful for this time of study at Princeton Theological Seminary and for this time in the States, which turned out to be so much more crucial than we had ever expected. Last year on May 9th, Tom's mother died. In the fall, on November 11th, Carol's father died, and on December 9th, Carol's grandfather died. Also in November, Tom's doctoral advisor, Dr. Loder, died suddenly. All these people who have nurtured and loved us, been role models and mentors for us, have left us. Carol's mother, Jo Tolley, has been a witness to the triumph of God's love in the midst of suffering, and we treasure more than ever the time we have together.

Carol has just finished her final exams and is pleased to be halfway through her M.A. degree in Christian education. Her work at a nearby nursing home and hospital as a student chaplain was a wonderful experience and she gained much hands-on training in leading Bible studies and preaching. She hopes to finish her degree the next time we are back in the States.

Tom successfully passed all his comprehensive exams, had his dissertation topic approved, and is now spending his days in a small study surrounded by books and his laptop. He's hoping to get a good start on his dissertation during these next couple of months before heading back to his teaching position at Tokyo Union Theological Seminary (TUTS). At the end of March, Tom was invited back to Japan where he was the keynote speaker for the Kyodan Missionary Retreat. He gave two talks on Christian Education in Japan: Past, Present, and Future and had a chance to see colleagues and friends.

We are also happy to announce that the translation of the PC(USA)'s children's catechism (Belonging to God: A First Catechism) has now been published in Japan and is being enthusiastically received by churches there. This is a project that Tom has been working on with the Rev. Kaoru Tanaka, a TUTS graduate, over the past few years, and it is thrilling to see it completed. We pray that the Holy Spirit will use it in the formation and transformation of the faith of the children of Japan. (The English version can be downloaded at: http://www.pcusa.org/catech/index.html)

A Little Japanese Christian History

Going through the archives of Princeton Seminary's library, Tom was surprised to discover that one of the leading figures in the religious education movement in the Japanese churches, Tamura Naomi , was also the first Japanese graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary (class of 1886). After publishing in English a controversial critique of the traditional Japanese system of marriage called The Japanese Bride, Tamura was reprimanded by the Tokyo Presbytery of the Church of Christ in Japan (Presbyterian) in 1893. A committee member who had investigated the charges wrote, "The main point is that as a result of this book Mr. Tamura has slandered the 40 million people of Japan. He has damaged the integrity and defamed the honor of our imperial Japan before other nations. He has rejected the high sense of duty and obligation for the national body politic which pastors of the Japanese Christian Church must bear." After refusing to retract, Tamura was officially deposed from the ministry by the Synod in 1894. The Synod's verdict on Tamura's progressive view of the family read, "He has engaged in activities for which he has no authority, insulting the people and damaging the honor of the Japanese people before foreign nations." Some of the missionaries were outraged and one yelled out, "Shukyo hotei no satsujin!" (Murder by a religious court!) at the Synod meeting. The Council of Cooperating Missions issued a carefully worded protest saying, "The Council of Cooperating Missions has heard with profound regret the decision of the Diakwai of the Church of Christ in Japan deposing Rev. N. Tamura from the ministry. The reasons for the same are, that, while it must be admitted that there are statements and opinions presented in the "The Japanese Bride," which are open to criticism because of their lack of good taste and their unfairness, yet these statements and opinions have no relevance to any point of doctrine or government in the standards of the Church, nor, in the opinions of the members of this Council, can the writings of them be construed as a moral offense. Therefore, without expressing an opinion as to any alleged acts or statements of the Rev. N. Tamura, outside the formal charges preferred in the Diakwai, the sentence of deposition - the extreme penalty for the gravest offenses - is regarded as excessive, and as contrary to the spirit of love and justice." Speaking of Tamura's dismissal as a sign of the Agrowing 'nationalistic ethos' within the Japanese Christian communities during the 1890's," Joseph Kitagawa says, AIronically, while most of the church papers did not raise any objections, it was the secular press, the Kokumin no Tomo (Friends of the People) that bitterly criticized the Christian community's dismissal of Tamura. It reminded the Christian communities: AThe Christian Church should not buckle to an extreme and narrow patriotism; rather it should show its own magnanimity." After the decision, Tamura and his congregation withdrew from the Presbyterians, and he continued to be the pastor of that same church until his death in 1934. Tamura never retracted his call for a modern ideal of marriage based on egalitarian conjugality rather than patriarchal consanguinity. Throughout his long pastoral career, he also helped found a progressive Christian journal called the Rikugo Zasshi, wrote numerous influential books and articles on religious education, was a leader in social action movements, (such as the protest of the copper poisoning incident at the Ashio mines), and led evangelistic campaigns throughout Japan.

Although Christians are a minority in Japan (between 1 and 3 percent of the population), they have had a disproportionately large influence on Japanese society and have often been in the forefront of the struggle for human rights as exemplified by this short biography of Tamura Naomi.

Many of you know that the PC(USA) is facing a major budget deficit. Donations to the ECO #048024 for International Mission Personnel will strengthen Worldwide Ministries' ability to continue the level of mission personnel it has had on the field and eventually, increase the numbers of mission personnel as well. Thank you for your continued support and prayers for the Japanese Church, our ministry and the ministries of our denomination.

We are excited about returning to Tokyo in August. Our address there will be the same as before:

6-10-28 Osawa
Mitaka-shi, Tokyo
Japan 181-0015

E-mail: thomas.hastings@ptsem.edu

With Love in Christ,

Tom and Carol Hastings

1From Robert Enns, Slander Against Our People, Japanese Religions, Vol. 18, January, 1993, documents held by the PTS Archives (with thanks to Bill Harris), Tamura Naomi, The Japanese Bride (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1893) and Joseph Kitagawa, The Asian Christian Tradition, Anglican Theological Review, Winter 1990, vol. 72, Issue 1

The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 185