Lutherans Honor James Ford, Chaplain Emeritus of U.S. House

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. James D. Ford, chaplain emeritus of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was honored May 3 at the Capitol with a breakfast attended by about 70 church and political leaders.
"It's been an exciting ministry in its own way, with its own challenges. It's time to retire, and in many ways I don't want to retire ... such interesting things to do, so many interesting people," said Ford.
"As you grow older you appreciate the lay people even more. You trust them. You can't tell them what to do, in terms of their jobs, but you salute them and what they do. It's been a wonderful life," he said.
Ford and his wife, Marcia Ruth Sodergren Ford, are the parents of four daughters and a son.
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. -- a rural town of 719 residents, he said.
"I started out as a parish pastor in Ivanhoe, Minn. I was there two and a half years," said Ford. "I was within 80 miles of where my father and grandfather had started out, and even in my wife's family -- her brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather were Lutheran pastors, and many of us lived in Minnesota."
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 told the breakfast gathering that the military academy had trained him well for Congress. "Chasing sin in Washington is nothing after the cadets at West Point," he joked.
"Congress is a different place" than it was in 1979, Ford said later. "America is a different place."
"Across the country there is a lessening of loyalties toward institutions," said Ford. "You have people moving from denomination to denomination without much problem," he said. "The same with politics -- members of Congress, to a great extent, are entrepreneurs in direct contact with their constituents" and are less concerned about the party line.
Some changes are positive, said Ford. The number of women and members of U.S. racial minorities has grown in Congress, he said. Even the military academy at West Point began including women when he was there.
During the first days of the Continental Congress there was a debate about the need for prayer, because of "the grave responsibilities before the delegates," said Ford. There was a concern about the many religious backgrounds of the delegates, but it was decided that "we can gather together under 'God loves us all.' They had the opening prayer, and since then we had a chaplain," he said.
"The job has grown," Ford acknowledged, beyond "the more conspicuous aspects of the job ... prayers or invocations around town, special events, ceremonies." Now, he said, most of the chaplain's time is spent "counseling, talking with people about their problems."
The Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin, 65, a Roman Catholic priest from Chicago was sworn in as chaplain of the U.S. House in March.
"I don't give him advice," said Ford. "One of the smartest things to do, when you leave something -- you leave," he said. "He'll do well, I'm sure."
"Chaplains have a unique opportunity, and I'd include all pastors," Ford said. "We're the only people among the so-called mental health professionals ... that can go out where people live and where they work and see them in that way," he said. "Psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors are in their offices, and people are referred to them or they meet people and they come to an office."
"It's easy as chaplain here to walk up to someone and say, 'How you doing?' You can walk on the floor, you can go to their offices, you go to their parties, you go to their events and you can be with them in that way," said Ford. "The same for chaplains in the military ... you can be with your people wherever they are and see what they do in their daily lives," he said.
"That's what I tried to do here over my 21 years -- come early, stay late, see what people do and get to know them," said Ford. "When they get to know you on a lesser plane, then they'll get to know you when they have a serious concern. They'll feel free to call on you."
The Rev. Theodore F. Schneider, bishop of the ELCA's Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod, opened and closed the breakfast with prayers.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif. 22nd), Rep. David Minge (D-Minn. 2nd), Rep. Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis. 6th) and Rep. Martin Olav Sabo (D-Minn. 5th), members of the ELCA; Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill. 20th), a member of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; Rep. Amory Houghton Jr. (R-N.Y. 31st), a member of The Episcopal Church; Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a member of the Roman Catholic Church, attended the breakfast. Several other members of Congress stopped to offer their best wishes.
Bruce Nicholson, president and CEO of Lutheran Brotherhood, a fraternal benefits society based in Minneapolis, reminded the group of Jesus Christ's command to "bear one another's burdens." He said that's what Ford has been doing for "the people he has served here in Congress and otherwise."
The Luther Institute of Washington, D.C., sponsored the breakfast with financial support from Lutheran Brotherhood. The institute fosters education and research on social, educational and ethical issues in the public sphere and encourages service to church and society.
The Former Members' Association of Congress will present Ford with its "Man of the Year Award" the morning of May 17 at the Capitol. Ford joked that the honor was meant "to keep me quiet and not to write that book."

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