[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 171 (Thursday, November 19, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO REVEREND SCOTT FISHER

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, this weekend the interior Alaska 
community will honor the Rev. Scott Fisher, the rector and senior 
pastor of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in downtown Fairbanks on the 
occasion of his retirement. St. Matthew's is not just any church. It is 
one of the three oldest churches in Fairbanks, a beautiful log building 
overlooking the Chena River. It is a diverse congregation, the 
spiritual home of the Athabascan community of interior Alaska. And 
Scott Fisher is not just any pastor. All who know Scott would agree 
that he reflects all that is good and all that is holy. Easy to talk to 
and calming in manner, Scott is respected by people of all faiths for 
his strength, compassion, and humanity.
  There is an old plaque on the door of St. Matthew's that reads: ``To 
all who are joyful and thankful--to all who mourn and need comfort--to 
all who are weary and need rest--to all who are friendless and wish 
friendship--to all who pray and to all who do not but ought--to all who 
sin and need a Savior and to whosoever will--this church opens wide the 
door and in the name of Christ the Lord says welcome.'' And under Scott 
Fisher's leadership, that was so. This is a church where newcomers feel 
welcome immediately.
  The Rev. Scott Fisher has served as rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal 
Church since June 1991. He arrived in Alaska, through the legendary 
Bishop William Jones Gordon, Jr., as a volunteer layworker in October 
1970 and lived in the interior villages of Chalkyitsik, Stevens 
Village, and Beaver before leaving for seminary under Bishop Gordon's 
direction in the summer of 1973. Receiving his M.Div. from the 
Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, in Austin, TX, he 
returned to the interior of Alaska, working for the church in Fort 
Yukon and Beaver before moving into the diocesan office. He was an 
assistant to the bishop, traveling and working extensively throughout 
the interior and Arctic coast, before coming to St. Matthew's in the 
summer of 1991.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank Rev. Scott Fisher for the 
powerful contribution he has made to life in interior Alaska and to 
wish him well in retirement. I know that I speak for the entire 
community in telling you that your departure leaves a large hole in our 
hearts, and we shall miss you.

                          ____________________