Administration Ministry Team
by Catherine Sasanuma
After the 2022 year-long celebration of the Tokyo Union Church’s 150th anniversary, we began imagining what comes next. Based on a series of deep reflections and insightful discussions, we (the past and present Council, the pastors, Finance Committee and Communications Team members, and our amazing alumna Julie Voskuil) developed these three action pillars:
1) Writing TUC’s Complete History up to the present, as A Church for All Seasons describes our history only through 1980.
2) Connecting with our past through reconnecting with our TUC alumni.
3) Developing an Endowment for operating expenses.
In 2024, we continued working on these three pillars.
Pillar 1: History
To look to the future, we want to be grounded in the rich history of God’s faithfulness to us in the past. This history project started In August 2024. JY Lee joined the TUC’s staff to begin writing TUC’s history from 1980 to the present. He is uniquely qualified to take on the project. He was formerly a journalist and is currently a PhD student at Princeton Theological Seminary. He now spends half his time on the TUC history project and half on his doctorate work.
JY has met with many TUC members and has been speaking with many TUC alumni. To see the classes offered in 2024, please visit TUC’s YouTube channel , where you can find a series of classes JY has been teaching on TUC’s history. These in-depth classes are fascinating presentations on TUC’s unique story.
You should know the history project is funded by a special donation, and it does not come from our member pledges.
Pillar 2: Alumni
We want to build bridges with our alumni because we stand on the shoulders of the many TUC members who have faithfully served Christ here.
In 2024, JY began reaching out to alumni through the history project. He has interviewed many long-term members of the TUC congregation and a number of TUC alumni. These interviews will be used to write TUC’s history from 1980 to the present.
In 2024, we also began planning an important evangelical event that may specifically appeal to TUC alumni. We invited TUC alumna Min Jin Lee, author of the best-selling book Pachinko, a compelling and an important story about Japan and Korea, to speak.
Min Jin’s personal faith story is truly inspiring, and she has woven beautiful expressions of faith into Pachinko. The event will take place on April 13, 2025. Kane Mitani, our new Evangelism Elder, is taking the lead on this event. Min Jin Lee will be interviewed by JY and our longtime member, Kathy Matsui.
Pillar 3: An Endowment for Operating Expenses
Formerly, we had many executives with higher incomes, but now we don’t—so we are working to develop the Campaign for Tomorrow Endowment. This endowment will generate interest to help provide financial stability for TUC’s operating budget. Events such as the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami have also highlighted the need for a fund that gives the church greater stability.
We seeded the start of the Operating Endowment, called Campaign for Tomorrow, by transferring some funds from the U.S. TUC Foundation. The balance now stands at 122,832,376 yen at 12/31/2024. Our goal is for the fund to grow to 1.5 million dollars or 225,000,000 yen, so that each year it can spin off interest to support a portion of our operating expenses.