CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The number of Lutherans in the 105th Congress of the United States remains unchanged. One member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is completing the term of another ELCA member. Lois Capps, 60, won a special election to complete her husband's first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Walter Capps -- a religious studies professor for 32 years -- died Oct. 28, 1997, after finishing 10 months of his two-year term.
Lois Capps, Santa Barbara, Calif., is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Wash., who had a 20-year career in public health nursing. The Democrat defeated her Republican opponent, Tom J. Bordonaro Jr., by a 12,000-vote margin. Both are candidates in California's June 2 primary election for the next term.
Twelve of the 23 Lutherans in Congress are Democrats, according to the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Washington, D.C. Eleven are Republicans.
The five Lutherans in the U.S. Senate are Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), Rod Grams (R-Minn.), Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.C.), and Tim Johnson (D-S.D.).
The 18 Lutherans in the U.S. House of Representatives are Douglas K. Bereuter (R-Neb. 1st), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio 13th), Lois Capps (D-Calif. 22nd), Norman D. Dicks (D-Wash. 6th), Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio 5th), Darlene Hooley (D-Ore. 5th), Ron Kind (D-Wis. 3rd), Tom Latham (R-Iowa 5th), David Minge (D-Minn. 2nd), Mark W. Neumann (R-Wis. 1st), Jim Nussle (R-Iowa 2nd), Michael Oxley (R-Ohio 4th), Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn. 7th), Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis. 6th), Martin Olav Sabo (D-Minn. 5th), John (M). Shimkus (R-Ill. 20th), Floyd D. Spence (R-S.C. 2nd), and Charles W. Stenholm (D-Texas 17th).
All are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, except Senators Burns and Grams and Representatives Bereuter and Shimkus who are members of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; Representative Neumann is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
