Tom and Carol Hastings taught with the Peace Corps in Western Samoa
Rev. Tom and Carol Hastings
The Hastings are on interpretation assignment in the United States until June 2002. For information about how to invite them to speak, visit the Mission Speakers Web page.
At the request of the United Church of Christ in Japan, Tom and Carol Hastings have been reappointed to serve in Tokyo. The Hastings have been serving with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Japan since 1988. Presently Tom is an associate professor of practical theology and Christian education at Tokyo Union Theological Seminary (TUTS), and Carol is ministering through their home with their four children, Rose, Paul, Sarah, and Katherine.
Carol pours much of her time into caring for their four children but manages to be involved in a number of other ministries as well. She shares leadership of their church's Sunday school and is involved in the music ministry there. She also hosts a weekly Bible study and teaches piano.
Tom is a tenured faculty member at TUTS. Besides his teaching, research, and writing duties, he gives seminars and lectures in churches and related organizations. Tom also serves on the board of directors at Joshi Gakuin and the American School in Japan. In their local church, Tom is involved in the music ministry and leads a Kerygma Bible study in their home.
Tokyo Union Theological Seminary has its roots in the 19th century beginnings of the Protestant missionary movement in Japan. It was first established in 1904 as the Tokyo School of Theology, an independent Japanese seminary. After the founding of the United Church of Christ in Japan (Nihon Kirisuto Kyodan) during World War II, the seminary's current name was given. TUTS provides well-trained church leaders for the Kyodan and the larger Protestant community in Japan. It is the largest Christian seminary in Japan with a diverse student body and the only seminary which is accredited by the Japanese Ministry of Education, offering the equivalent of BDiv, MDiv, and ThD degrees. Presently about 20 percent of its student body are women and about 40 percent are first generation Christians.
Prior to working at TUTS, Tom was associate professor of Christian education at Seiwa College in Nishinomiya from 1993–1995 and lecturer in English and Bible at Hokuriku Gakuin Junior College in Kanazawa from 1987–1991.
While on home assignment in 1991–1992, the Hastings lived in Princeton, New Jersey. Carol studied at Westminster Choir College and Tom was a special student enrolled in doctoral level seminars at Princeton Theological Seminary. Tom has a BA in English from Boston College and an MA degree in educational ministries from Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, Illinois. He has taught with the Peace Corps in Western Samoa, the YMCA in Kofu, Japan, and Williamsburg Christian Academy in Virginia. Carol earned her BA degree in music from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and did graduate work in piano at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She, too, has taught with the Peace Corps in Western Samoa and with the YMCA in Kofu, Japan.
Tom is a clergy member of the Presbytery of West Jersey and Carol is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, New Jersey.
Birthdays:
Tom: October 12
Carol: November 5
Rose: March 28, 1980
Paul: May 8, 1982
Sarah: January 26, 1985
Katherine: September 13, 1994
