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.

Learn More

When you live in a cluttered space, it can increase your anxiety, decrease your productivity, lower the quality of your sleep and make you more likely to overeat, said Heather Quintana, editor of Vibrant Life. This month get some tips on health, cleaning and why you need to clear the clutter.

Story by Edwin Manuel Garcia

Unbeknown to him, Fred Shoemaker’s first inclination toward Adventism included a conversation he initiated with his mother at the age of 6 or 7 when they attended the Church of Christ in Linden, Ohio, on Sundays. “You know, Mom,” he said, “this isn’t the seventh day; it’s the first day.” She didn’t disagree.

Years later when Shoemaker was studying for a doctorate in history, a fellow history graduate student, Jim Rohrer, challenged him to broaden his reading list beyond political history to also include religious history. That’s how he came across footnotes that mentioned the Millerites and the Advent movement.

Story by Tina Sheesley

The deliveries were extra special at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center on Feb. 29, as our Birth Center team helped local moms welcome leap year babies. On leap day 2020, Shady Grove doctors and nurses delivered 7 babies whose next birthdays won’t be on the calendar for four more years.