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.

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.

Image by Taken on Pixabay

According to the Washington Post, during the first three months of 2018, there were at least 11 school shooting incidents nationwide, including the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 were killed. We asked three Columbia Union educators what they think we should do to keep our schools safe.

Matthew Abrams (center, in blue) and other Campus Ministries members prepare material to provide food for homeless people in Washington, D.C.

The foundational principle, “It is more blessed t o give than to receive” (Acts 20:35, NIV), presents a stark contrast to the self-centered messages in today’s society. But Matthew Abrams, a junior from Chesapeake Conference's Spencerville Adventist Academy (Md.), is leading the charge to bring the spirit of giving back into the light.