The Washington Conference Executive Committee along with officials from the North Pacific Union Conference and the city of Federal Way met May 12 on the new conference office property to break ground for the new office building. The new property, located on the corner of 323rd and Weyerhouser Way in Federal Way, will become the home of the conference office and provide an auditorium for meetings of conference pastors, teachers and general conference events.

The previous office’s sale was finalized in October. The new office building will be smaller than the previous Bothell offices and more energy efficient, which will result in continued savings to overall conference operations.

During the groundbreaking service, Linda Kochmar, deputy mayor, welcomed the Washington Conference to Federal Way and shared warm thoughts of her experiences with the Adventist Church over the years. She and her children were all born in Adventist hospitals. John Freedman, Washington Conference president, led the attendees in a prayer of dedication for the new building site and the work that will be done there.