Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Allegheny East Conference

News from the Allegheny East Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, which includes churches and schools in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Members from Chesapeake Conference’s Atholton church—Sarah and Anna Singalla, Janet Keng Asare, Pastor Shawn Paris, Jasmin Elliott and Jair Parada—were photographed by Brian Patrick Tagalog in Columbia, Md.

Seventh-day Adventists are among the most racially and ethnically diverse American religious groups. A groundbreaking survey Monte Sahlin conducted also confirmed that Adventism is not only browning but also graying. How will these demographic shifts impact how we minister in our communities?

Nia Burton, BJA kindergartener, concentrates before she makes her next move at the chess tournament.

A group of Baltimore Junior Academy (BJA) students from the Allegheny East Conference recently hosted and participated in their first annual Baraka Shabazz Junior Chess Tournament. Students fully engaged in their chess games, but also took time to build relationships with participating players from public schools.

A team from Potomac Conference's Beltsville Pathfinder Club reacts to their placement. Photo by Pieter Damsteegt

Thirty-seven Columbia Union Conference Pathfinder teams recently participated in the North American Division’s Pathfinder Bible Experience in Florida. A sudden venue change in January proved to be a miracle in disguise, allowing a total of 193 teams to compete—an amount way beyond what organizers originally estimated.

Members of the Fredericksburg Pathfinder Club participate in the Columbia Union Pathfinder Bible Experience

On Sabbath, 54 teams, comprised of at least 320 Pathfinders, gathered in Blue Mountain Academy’s gymnasium in Hamburg, Pa., to test their knowledge of the books of Esther and Daniel during the Columbia Union Conference’s sixth Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE), a competition that tests participants Bible knowledge. So far it is the largest Columbia Union PBE event in the union.