The dedication of the new home office building and Sabbath services cybercast to 133 congregations were the highlights of the Sabbath before the seventh Annual Meeting of the General Conference of Elders.

After a cool, overcast morning, the sun broke out in time for the 11 a.m. dedication ceremony in the parking lot of the newly completed home office building. Ambassador Bible Center students and other volunteers set up chairs, served as parking attendants and ushers and served juice and cookies to the guests. As Les McCullough took the stage to begin the event, a jet flew overhead, leading Mr. McCullough to joke about a "flyover by United." He also commented on all the nations and people represented at the event, naming countries such as South Africa, the Philippines..."and Texas!"

Mr. McCullough called on Don Ward for an invocation. This was followed by two numbers performed by singers from Cincinnati area choirs: "Great Is the Lord" and "Journey of Faith."

Mr. McCullough then gave a dedication speech describing the history of the new building. A little over two years ago he was looking for property to consider for an office, and he visited this site just up the hill from the leased space the Church was using. "It wasn't much to look at," he said, describing the piles of dirt. But the Church leadership saw beyond that, and after bidding considerably less than the asking price and having the bid accepted, and after choosing between architectural proposals, the project began. Mr. McCullough said the chosen architect "did a beautiful job of incorporating" the ideas that he was shown of other buildings that the Church leadership liked.

"There have been ups and downs" in the building process, Mr. McCullough said. He thanked the staff members who have had the greatest involvement in coordinating with the builders: Tom Kirkpatrick, Dave Evans, Peter Eddington, and Richard Kennebeck. He also thanked Sarah Kirkpatrick, who is coordinating the landscaping, which is in the beginning phases with most of the trees being planted in the last three days.

Mr. McCullough highlighted the fact that the building is a multipurpose building, dedicated to doing the work of the great God. He talked about the growing, "continually swamped" mailing office, the much needed warehouse (five times the square footage of the previous space, but eight times the space since it is much taller), the new studios for the media area and the ABC classroom area that will also be used for the Cincinnati East congregation. The only problem is, the congregation won't have much room to grow before reaching 300—the number the hall can seat! Room to grow was planned into other aspects of the building, including several empty offices and a space to build up to six more, as well as longer-range plans that could include adding on to the building.

The building has "met, and I think exceeded, our expectations," Mr. McCullough said. The Church has been "very graciously blessed by God," he said, and he thanked the brethren for their support. The building is "a tool to provide for the spiritual building, the Church of God."

Mr. McCullough then introduced Roy Holladay to give the dedication prayer, after which both men joined to cut a ribbon across the front entrance.

In addition to the 722 elders, wives and local brethren attending at the Holiday Inn Eastgate in Cincinnati, 133 congregations were connected by telephone hookup, and there were 104 cybercast connections. These thousands of brethren heard split sermons by Council of Elders members Mario Seiglie and Richard Thompson.

Mr. Seiglie spoke about how the Church can have unity of faith, while having diversity of cultures. He described the international meetings held on Wednesday, May 1, and used the example of how the Church has provided the Good News editorial staffs with great leeway to serve their cultures, such as the British and European supplement, and the adjustments made for the German and Spanish versions. He explained how the various cultures mutually excel each other, but each have weaknesses as well. He described the approach advocated by the apostle Paul of esteeming others better than self, not having feelings of superiority, but humbly adapting to other cultures.

After announcements by Mr. Holladay, the Ambassador Bible Center Chorale sang two numbers: "How Will They Know?" and "Shout for Joy, O Daughter of Zion."

Richard Thompson's split sermon focused on the faithfulness of God. He showed that God has always done what He had promised, even when men have not. God is not only faithful to Himself and to nations and groups, but He is faithful to care for the needs of the individual. The God who knows the names of all the stars in the myriad galaxies of the universe knows our needs. Mr. Thompson concluded with a quote from "Journey of Faith" sung at the dedication in the morning.