Title: Chaplain for the U.S. House, ELCA Pastor to Retire
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 3, 1999

CHAPLAIN FOR THE U.S. HOUSE, ELCA PASTOR TO RETIRE
99-150-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. James D. Ford, 67, a pastor of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), will retire after more
than 20 years as chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives.
     "We wish him God's speed as he ends his distinguished career in
the House and looks forward to retirement and new adventures," said
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill. 14th) and Minority Leader Richard A.
Gephardt (D-Mo. 3rd) in a May 21 statement.  "Dr. Ford has graciously
agreed to remain as chaplain until the House elects a replacement."
     Hastert and Gephardt said a bipartisan committee of 18 U.S.
Representatives will conduct a search for Ford's successor.  The
committee includes Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif. 22nd), a member of the
ELCA, and Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill. 20th), a member of The Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod.
     A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minn., and
Augustana Theological Seminary, Rock Island, Ill., Ford was ordained in
1958 in the former Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church.  He served as
pastor of Bethany Elim Lutheran Church, Ivanhoe, Minn.
     Ford was named assistant chaplain, Cadet Chapel, United States
Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1961 and senior chaplain in
1965.  He became chaplain of the U.S. House in January 1979.
     Ford and his wife, Marcia Ruth Sodergren Ford, are the parents of
four daughters and a son.


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