Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Chesapeake Conference

The Chesapeake Conference has over 13,924 members in 74 congregations (64 churches, 10 companies) in Delaware, Maryland, and on the edges of Virginia and West Virginia. It has a pastoral workforce of 65, and its largest congregation, Spencerville (Silver Spring, Md.) has a membership in excess of 1,719. The Chesapeake Conference operates a strong Christian educational program that includes nearly 100 teachers and more than 1,050 students in 11 schools including one high school, a Pre-K - 12 grade academy, a Pre-K - 10 grade academy and eight elementary schools. It also operates an Adventist Book Center and four Adventist Community Services centers in Maryland and Delaware.

Mt. Aetna Camp and Retreat Center, outside Hagerstown, Md., is a fully-accredited camping and retreat center that hosts more than 700 youth during the conference's annual summer camp program. The site, which houses a nature center with a collection of stuffed animals, birds, insects, and reptiles from around the world, is used for field trips, outdoor learning programs, church retreats, spiritual seminars, and camping and hiking excursions.

Jeans Pocket - Pixabay.com; congerdesign

A friend recently told me that God doesn’t get involved in our lives. He said, “Imagine you have God on a shelf at home. Things are fine, but suddenly there’s a problem. You run home, grab Jesus and put Him in your pocket, close to your heart. Then you confront the problem you’re having.” I asked, “Then what?” With a smile, he clarified, “Then you put God back on the shelf!”

We live in a fast-paced digital age. News is distilled into soundbites. Thirty-second commercials leave us feeling that a two-minute video is long. We expect our internet service to be max speed. We grow impatient even as our microwave ovens quickly warm up our food. Electronic devices are all around us—we use them for work, play, learning, relaxation, communication, relationships and even worship. What is the impact of all of this on our church-going experience?

It's camp meeting season! Get information on the Columbia Union Conference camp meetings here!

The newly re-elected Chesapeake Conference officers are joined by their wives: Jerry Lutz, Janet Lutz, Rick Remmers, Shayne Remmers, Elsy Muñoz and Eduardo Muñoz. Photo by Andre Hastick

At the Fourth Quinquennial Constituency Session of the Chesapeake Conference, held on Sunday, May 21, at the Spencerville church in Silver Spring, Md., a quorum of the 327 regular delegates and 227 delegates-at-large met to elect officers for the 2017-2021 quinquennial term and conduct church business.

The Triadelphia Sparks PBE team places first at the North American Division event. Photo courtesy North American Division

Eight teams from the Columbia Union Conference placed first at the recent North American Division Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE) in Chicago. Six teams placed second.