The 110th Congress of the United States, sworn in Jan. 4, includes 18 Lutherans — 11 Democrats and 7 Republicans, according to the ELCA Washington Office, 
the federal public policy advocacy office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Two of the 15 Lutherans serving in the U.S. House of Representatives are members of Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod congregations:
- Dave Reichert is beginning his second term as a Republican congressman from Washington’s 8th District. Reichert, who formerly served as sheriff of Seattle’s King County, was profiled in The Lutheran Witness in September and December 2004. His home congregation is Lutheran Church of the Cross in Kent, Wash.
- John M. Shimkus, a Republican from Illinois’ 19th District, is beginning his sixth term as a congressman. His home congregation is Holy Cross
Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Ill.
Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Ill.Other Lutherans serving in the House are:
- Michele Bachmann (R-Minn., 6th),
- Lois Capps (D-Calif., 23rd),
- John R. Carter (R-Texas, 31st),
- Norman D. Dicks (D-Wash., 6th),
- Stephanie Herseth (D-S.D., at large),
- Darlene Hooley (D-Ore., 5th),
- Ron Kind (D-Wis., 3rd),
- Tom Latham (R-Iowa, 4th),
- Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif., 16th),
- Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn., 7th),
- Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis., 6th),
- Bill Shuster (R-Pa., 9th), and
- Tim Walz (D-Minn., 1st).
Three Lutherans are members of the U.S. Senate:
- Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio),
- Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), and
- Tim Johnson (D-S.D.).
Besides the Missouri Synod’s Reichert and Shimkus, two — Bachmann and Kind — are members of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the rest are ELCA members.
(Information from ELCA News Service.)
Posted Feb. 6, 2007
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