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

 

Story by Carina O. Prestes

In the fifth century, the priest Peter Illyria built the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome over a former house church. Above the door of the main entrance there is a mosaic portraying two women: one is identified as representing the church of the circumcised and the other as representing the church of the Gentiles. Both are portrayed with the familiar hand gestures displayed by religious teachers of that era and hold a large open book (likely the Bible). Such iconography was typically used to identify bishops. In addition, the woman representing the church of the Gentiles holds a cloth over her left arm, which only priests used when serving the eucharist.

Chris Tomlin performs on-stage

Story by Jerry Woods

More than 3,400 WGTS listeners turned out for “An Evening of Worship” with Chris Tomlin at Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge, Va.  

“It seems like every Chris Tomlin show is more like a huge worship service,” said WGTS Morning Show Host and Promotions Director Jerry Woods.  “For the majority of the show people were on their feet, many with their hands in the air, singing along with every song.  It’s was a moving night.”

Story by Christina Keresoma

Jerry Burrey has always been a hardworking man. He is a builder, and when his brother asked him to come over and help remove some bushes from his yard, he was there. His brother left to get something from his truck, but Burrey kept working. Soon his cellphone rang, and when he looked at it, he saw it was his brother. He thought that it was a mistake, so he declined the call. It rang again, so he answered it questionably. He heard mumbling and knew something was wrong. Burrey ran around the house and found his brother lying face down by his truck. He had suffererd a heart attack and was rushed to Sycamore Medical Center.