Glynn Litster
Dr Glynn Litster arrived at the Australasian Missionary College on a whim. He’d missed out on a place at The University of Melbourne and, unsure of what to do next, arrived at Avondale via the “Gospel Chariot” bus from Dora Creek Station. Thus began Glynn’s adventure into the world of education—a course then known as theological normal to prevent students from being drafted into World War Two.
Following his graduation in 1945, Glynn took his first teaching position in South New Zealand before returning to Australia. He married Elva, who he had first met at Avondale, in 1951. Daughter Glenda was born in 1953 and son Reg in 1955. The family was then called to Fulton College in Fiji where they lived for three years.
A call to Samoa came while they were back in Australia on an early furlough—“I went begrudgingly,” Glynn says, but he admits he soon fell in love with the country. Since returning to Cooranbong in 1970, Glynn has served in many Seventh-day Adventist schools in Australia, New Zealand—as principal of the church’s largest secondary schools in both countries—and Papua New Guinea and returned to Samoa multiple times. He would also complete further education, graduating with a master’s degree in 1974 and a PhD in 1980.
A lover of music, Glynn has spent his retirement updating Seventh-day Adventist Church hymnals. Beginning with the Samoan hymnal, Glynn has volunteered many hours notating hymns for the Kirabati, Tongan, Fijian and Pidgin hymnbooks and fundraised extensively for their printing and distribution throughout the Pacific.
The class of 1945 honours Glynn for his commitment to the ministry of teaching and his contribution to the musical history of the Adventist Church.
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