Online Book Symposium–Early Adventist Female Leaders in South America
Attend an online book symposium with Dr. Sylvia Scholtus, author of Women in Leadership in the Beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South America (Editorial Universidad Adventista del Plata, 2020), and Dr. Nancy Vyhmeister on Sunday, February 27.
The online symposium will be presented on Zoom with Chigemezi Wogu in Germany and Daniel Muller in the Netherlands as moderators on February 27 at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time / 3 p.m. Argentina Time / 7 p.m. Central European Time.
You can join this event live on Zoom by clicking here. (Zoom Meeting ID: 869 5455 6088 Passcode: 374280)
This book exposes a pending debt to fill an existing gap in Adventist history. That debt continues to be the recognition of the fervor and enthusiasm to communicate the Gospel that guided many early Adventist female leaders in South America. These courageous women dedicated their lives in a self-sacrificing and laborious way to contribute to the establishment, spreading and strengthening of Adventism in the countries that make up the present South American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
This work recounts the story of some of those women. All of them have been women of faith, with their struggles and heartaches, but also with hope and victories in Christ. Their lives, their dedication and their leadership inspired in others an intense longing to be sons and daughters of God. Their passion for doing good and honoring God gave fruits that today leave us indebted to them.
It is the author’s desire that this book doesn’t just fill a historic void, but that it motivates and inspires the development of all the potential of the woman filled with the Spirit of God that she may reflect His grace and mercy towards human beings.
Presenter: Dr. Silvia Cristina Scholtus is a Licenciate and PhD in Theology by the River Plate University. Now she is an emeritus teacher of the University where she had worked since 1990. She taught different subjects in all the faculties in the undergraduate and postgraduate levels of the University. She wrote more than 30 books and book chapters, and has about 100 articles published in different continents and languages (Portuguese, English, Spanish and Finnish).
At this time, some of her publications are in the press. She has given conferences and talks in various places in Argentina and abroad. She was part of different teams for the writing of books on biblical topics and history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in different Latin American countries, and worked in editorial teams of several academic journals of the River Plate University, and other countries. She was a librarian and archivist at the Ellen White Research Center in Argentina for more than 25 years. From 2017 to 2020, she was Director of the Adventist Historical Center of the Argentine Union of Seventh-day Adventists located on the University campus.
In July 2020, nearly 30 of her articles were published in the new General Conference Adventist Encyclopedia of History available online. She has been retired since June 2020, though she continues to be active as a speaker and writer. She is married to Mario E. Roscher. They have three children and one grandson.
Respondent: Dr. Nancy Jean Vyhmeister, EdD, has become known over the past six decades for her endeavors in religious instruction and global ministry work. Dr. Vyhmeister first studied at Pacific Union College in California, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in French in 1958. Continuing her studies at Andrews University, she received a Master of Arts in biblical studies in 1967 and, while teaching, a Doctor of Education in religious education in 1978.
Teaching forthcoming pastors and professors in the field, her career began in Chile, and later continued in Argentina, where she spent a decade as an instructor at River Plate College in Villa Libertador, Entre Rios, between 1961 and 1971. She later became an Assistant, Associate and Full Professor of World Missions and a Seminary Librarian at Andrews University between 1975 and 2000.
There was an intermission of six years when she and her husband, Werner Vyhmeister, worked in the Philippines, bringing to life the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies. While living in the Philippines, she taught courses at Adventist universities in India, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. Her teaching in Latin America reached six Adventist universities. After her retirement, she assisted her husband in the development of the Adventist University of Africa, with its headquarters in Kenya and taught the first course in the original extension campuses, in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Dr. Vyhmeister’s commitment to theological education has been vital to her success. Helping young men and women become successful pastors and teachers has been extremely rewarding. She reports that a great part of her success is due to the encouragement of her husband, Dr. Werner Vyhmeister (1931-2020), who was the leader of the institutions where she taught.
As an extension of her career, Dr. Vyhmeister has authored several books in both English and Spanish, including Quality Research Papers: For Students of Religion and Theology and its Spanish version, BTV # 12: Manual de investigación teológica (Biblioteca Teologica Vida). The English version of this book is now in its fourth edition. While teaching at Andrews University, she served as editor of Andrews University Seminary Studies and Women in Ministry: Biblical and Historical Perspectives (1994). During her career, Dr. Vyhmeister also assisted in the translation and editing of the Comentario biblico Adventista, between 1978 and 1996. Dr. Vyhmeister’s career has been supported through membership with the Society of Biblical Literature. Recognized for her indelible accomplishments, she was named as the Woman of the Year by the Association of Adventist Women in 2007. In 2020, Dr Vyhmeister received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for her achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field.
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