Dole Nominates Hollywood Minister as Senate Chaplain

WASHINGTON —  Sen. Majority Leader Bob Dole on Friday nominated Lloyd Ogilvie, a Presbyterian pastor in Hollywood with a national radio-television ministry, to become the new Senate chaplain.

Ogilvie’s name will be presented to the full Senate for final approval, but that step is considered a formality, according to a Dole aide.

The post is one of five elected offices of the Senate, along with secretary, sergeant-at-arms and secretaries for the majority and minority parties.

The chaplain opens each session of the Senate with a prayer.

Ogilvie has served since 1972 as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood. He also hosts a syndicated radio and television program, “Let God Love You.”

“I am delighted that someone of Dr. Ogilvie’s national reputation has agreed to serve as Senate chaplain,” Dole said in a statement.

In the 205-year history of the Senate, Ogilvie will become its 61st chaplain, Dole’s office said.

Ogilvie’s appointment, which caught Presbyterian leaders by surprise in Los Angeles, is likely to be welcomed among conservative Christians, many of whom are increasingly active in Republican politics.

Sara DiVito Hardman, California state director of religious broadcaster Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition, said she was delighted by the appointment and said it would help Dole politically .

“I think the Christians who know Ogilvie know that he’s a very definitely basic, true to the Bible, teacher. He’s well respected. . . . I think it speaks well for Dole,” Hardman said.

Ogilvie, reached by phone Friday, said, “I believe the Senate chaplain is a nonpolitical, nonpartisan office. The primary role is one of being pastor to the senators and their families, and their staffs. I would hope to bring spiritual encouragement and inspiration, counseling and care.”

Although he is a Presbyterian, Ogilvie is highly regarded in evangelical circles. He is considered to be an effective preacher who, like evangelicals, places great emphasis on what they call the lordship of Jesus Christ. His television program is carried by Christian cable networks that usually offer programming that appeals mainly to evangelical Christians.

A leading Presbyterian in Los Angeles said that Ogilvie would be well-suited to respond to the religious diversity represented in the Senate.

“He’s an evangelical with broad ecumenical commitments,” said the Rev. Charles W. Doak, clerk of Pacific Presbytery that covers Hawaii and the southwest quarter of Los Angeles, including Malibu, Wilmington and downtown Hollywood. “He’s not one who’s narrow in any sense of the word. His broad ecumenical commitment will enable him to serve all the traditions in the Senate,” Doak said.

His departure is expected to be a major loss to the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood where Ogilvie’s charismatic preaching have catapulted the mainline Presbyterian church into national prominence.

A native of Wisconsin, Ogilvie previous pastoral assignments were in Illinois and Pennsylvania before coming to Hollywood. He is a graduate of Garrett Theological Seminary, a Methodist seminary, at Northwestern University.

Ogilvie was recommended to Dole by a bipartisan committee of senators, chaired by Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.). The panel spent several months screening more than 200 applications and interviewing finalists.

Ogilvie will succeed the Rev. Richard Halverson, who is retiring after 14 years as chaplain.