Mello, Aracely da Silveira (1905–1988)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

First Published: June 29, 2021

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Aracely da Silveira Mello was a pastor and writer in Brazil.

Aracely da Silveira Mello was born October 26, 1905, in the city of Cachoeira do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He was the youngest of eight children born to Ramiro de Morais Silveira and Maria Luiza Mello da Silveira.¹ The family owned extensive areas of forest land in the region and had a profitable business in the timber trade. In 1907 they moved to the city of Cruz Alta, since his father had been appointed line-master for the construction of the railway that would connect Cruz Alta to Giruá, both in Rio Grande do Sul state. There Aracely completed primary education at a public school.²

While an adolescent he was introduced to the Adventist Church through a series of meetings held in Cruz Alta by Pastor José Amador dos Reis, at the end of which he was baptized on October 30, 1920.³ Aracely was the first baptized member in this city and the first person to be baptized by Pastor Reis. After this he began secondary education at a Catholic school, where he was faithful to his principles and did not attend classes on Saturdays nor study the catechism.⁴

To help with family expenses, especially due to consequences of the First World War, Aracely began working as a telegraph operator at a young age. In 1926, at the age of 21, he moved to the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, where he worked with his brother as a telegraph operator. He stayed there until 1928, when he went to the state capital, Porto Alegre, and continued working in the same area until December 1931. At that time he resigned because of a requirement to work on Saturdays.⁵

Desiring to study theology and become a pastor, Aracely planned to enter Brazil College in São Paulo city (now UNASP-SP) the following year, 1932. In order to gain the necessary resources, he decided to go canvassing; however, he had only a month before classes started. By the providence of God, that month he earned twice the amount of money he had earned as a telegraph operator by selling the magazine O Atalaia. Thereby he managed to pay for his first year of studies and to purchase his school books. The four years he remained at Brazil College were funded completely by canvassing. He lived as a boarding student during the first year, and the following year, 1933, he married Lídia Herman. The couple had one child, Humberto Mello.⁶

Aracely graduated from both high school and the theology course in September 1935. He began denominational work in 1938 as a licensed pastor in the city of Porto Alegre, under the administration of the Rio Grande do Sul Conference.⁷ During this period he had a pioneer role in the organization of the church in the city of Alegrete, where he pastored the small group there and baptized six more people after a series of meetings. A house was rented for the worship services. Aracely was the district pastor from 1940 to 1942.⁸ He was ordained to the ministry in 1941 and served as a pastor at the Rio Grande do Sul Conference until 1944.⁹

In 1945 he accepted a call to work at the Paraná-Santa Catarina Conference, serving for two years in the cities of Curitiba, Paraná, and Florianópolis, in Santa Catarina.¹⁰ Next he returned to the Rio Grande do Sul Conference where he served from 1947 to 1960.¹¹ During the 20-year period Aracely ministered in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, he held many evangelistic meetings which included the cities of Pelotas, Alegrete, Passo Fundo, Uruguaiana, and Santa Maria.¹²

In 1961 Pastor Aracely moved to the northeast of Brazil where he taught Bible for one year at the Northeast Brazil Junior College, state of Pernambuco.¹³ Then he was appointed as Bible school director for the Voice of Prophecy radio program in Rio de Janeiro where he served from 1963 to 1967.¹⁴

Always studious and active, he wrote and published many things during his ministry; however, the profits from each printed work were always dedicated to a church or school. He wrote: A Verdade Sobre as Profecias do Apocalipse (first edition in 1959 and second in 1982) (The Truth About the Prophecies of Revelation); Testemunhos Históricos das Profecias de Daniel (1968) (Historical Testimonies of Daniel’s Prophecies); Os Maravilhosos Milagres de Cristo (1968) (The Wonderful Miracles of Christ); Um encontro com a Divindade (1982) (An Encounter with Divinity); Justificação Pela Fé, O Pai Nosso: A oração Fundamental do Cristianismo, (Justification by Faith, Our Father: The Fundamental Prayer of Christianity); and O Santuário de Deus (The Sanctuary of God).¹⁵

Pastor Aracely da Silveira Mello retired in 1968 and soon after moved to the city of Taquara, next to the Cruzeiro do Sul Adventist Academy. He died November 28, 1988, at the age of 83, in Taquara, leaving his wife and son.¹⁶ Aracely left a contribution of 30 years to the SDA Church in Brazil, especially to the state of Rio Grande do Sul, where many people were blessed by his pastoral ministry.

Sources

“Aracely Silveira Mello (1903-1988).” Revista Adventista, vol. 85, no. 6, June 1989, 28.

Hardessem, Harley Silva. “Vida e Obra de Aracely da Silveira Mello.” Monography, Brazil College, 1988.

“Igreja Adventista de Alegrete, RS (Centro).” National Adventist Memory Center (Online), January 19, 2015. Accessed May 5, 2020. http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Igreja_Adventista_de_Alegrete,_RS_(Centro).

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. Various years.

Notes

Harley Silva Hardessem, “Vida e Obra de Aracely da Silveira Mello” (Monografia, Instituto Adventista de Ensino, 1988), 1, 9.↩
Ibid., 2-3.↩
Ibid., 1, 9.↩
Ibid., 3.↩
Ibid., 4-5.↩
Ibid., 5-6; “Aracely Silveira Mello,” Revista Adventista, vol. 85, no. 6, June 1989, 28.↩
Harley Silva Hardessem, “Vida e Obra de Aracely da Silveira Mello” (Monography, Brazil College, 1988), 7; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1939), 189; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1941), 192.↩
“Igreja Adventista de Alegrete, RS (Centro),” National Adventist Memory Center, January 19, 2015, accessed May 5, 2020, http://www.memoriaadventista.com.br/wikiasd/index.php?title=Igreja_Adventista_de_Alegrete,_RS_(Centro).↩
“Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1942), 192; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1945), 153.↩
“Parana-Santa Catarina Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1946), 159; “Parana-Santa Catarina Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1947), 153; “Aracely Silveira Mello,” Revista Adventista, vol. 85, no. 6, June 1989, 28.↩
“Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1948), 155; “Rio Grande do Sul Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1961), 170.↩
“Aracely Silveira Mello,” Revista Adventista, vol. 85, no. 6, June 1989, 28.↩
“Northeast Brazil Junior College,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1962), 270.↩
“East Brazil Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1963), 180; “South America Division,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1968), 195.↩
“Aracely Silveira Mello,” Revista Adventista, vol. 85, no. 6, June 1989, 28; Harley Silva Hardessem, “Vida e Obra de Aracely da Silveira Mello” (Monography, Brazil College, 1988), 12.↩
“South Brazil Union Conference,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1969), 218; “Aracely Silveira Mello,” Revista Adventista, vol. 85, no. 6, June 1989, 28.↩