Who We Are, How We Serve

The Columbia Union Conference, established in 1907 to coordinate the Seventh-day Adventist Church's work in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, is part of the worldwide Protestant denomination of 23 million members in more than 212 countries. At the union level, we connect and provide administrative leadership, governance and support services to our conferences, schools, health care networks and ministries. Each year, our organizations sponsor programs and projects that address human needs, improve quality of life and introduce people to Jesus. Read our Mission, Values and Priorities.

We Believe

God is love, power, and splendor—and God is a mystery. His ways are far beyond us, but He still reaches out to us. God is infinite yet intimate, three yet one,
all-knowing yet all-forgiving.

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“For I know the plans I have for you ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you ... to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11, NIV).

The biochemistry textbook was thick and assignments ominous. My primary question was not Will I survive this class? but Is this even necessary?

Though I had weathered challenges before, the horror stories about my university’s Biochemistry course alarmed me. A graduating senior, I was already swamped by other academic and extracurricular commitments.

Embarking on a detailed, fast-paced journey, I increasingly appreciated how biology and chemistry intertwined. I had a C, however, which terrified me. God, what is happening? I began to ask.

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“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11, KJV).

My mother’s passing at the age of 91 was “lost” in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, but I remember her and her great personal sacrifice when our father returned from the Vietnam War in 1968, only to abandon the family 10 days later.

The text says that God will “shew me the path of life,” but for a 15-year-old whose life had just imploded, I could not see my way forward. Thank God for a mother with a deep faith and a desire to follow truth wherever it led.

We're going to dig deeper into this conversation Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. on VNL. Are there any questions YOU have for these pastors? Anything you've noticed along this topic? Join us here or on facebook.com/columbiaunionvisitor.

Join our conversation with Pastor Heather Crews, Pastor Cesar Gonzales, Volunteer Lay Pastor Lance Moncrieffe, Columbia Union Executive Secretary Rick Remmers and Pastoral Assistant Naomi Tricomi.

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“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights” (Hab. 3:19, NIV).

There have been times when my trust in God was in a frequent seesaw. My trust soared high when my circumstances were the way I desired and dipped low when God did not come through for me as I asked Him to. I even questioned whether His promises were real.