Faithful Servants: Neal Fisher

The Faithful Servants Series gives an in-depth look at the work of some of Garrett-Evangelical's beloved retired faculty and senior scholars, as well as their reflections on their time at Garrett-Evangelical. 

The excitement and enthusiasm I experienced as I came to Garrett-Evangelical as president in 1980 remained undiminished and alive as I retired in 2001.

Every year Ila and I welcomed new students and their families to our home during the first week of school, and we shared their excitement and sense of calling as they began seminary studies. At the end of the academic year, new graduates came again to our house for a senior breakfast, and they were full of enthusiasm for the new assignments they were to receive. I once asked a new grad if she had already worked on  her first sermon. She responded, “No, I have outlines for my first five!”

   
There was real satisfaction in working with faculty, trustees, students, staff and alums toward our common aim of preparing bold spiritual leaders. My time in the classroom was limited, though I had the privilege of co-teaching courses in systematic theology with my colleague, Dr. Henry Young. Later I welcomed opportunities to give guest lectures in classes and to teach courses in theology during winter and summer intensive periods

  
Our faculty and trustees in those years spent significant time together in thinking through the basic values arising out of our histories (Evangelical, Garrett, and Chicago Training School) and in identifying the core purpose that informed our work. Later visiting accrediting committees noted with commendation that this self-understanding and sense of purpose was understood and embraced throughout the seminary community.

 
We celebrated many occasions together as a seminary community. I recall with particular gratitude, for example, the evening in May, 1992 when we opened our reconstructed worship space with its newly built Leiffer memorial organ and dedicated the chapel to the glory of God in memory of  the Unnamed Faithful.

   
Following retirement I have been grateful for the opportunity to continue in theological studies with particular interest in what appears to me to be exciting breakthroughs in the interaction of science, postmodernity and theology. I continue my interest in theological method and faith formation as well as the implications of Christian ethics for societal issues of poverty and war and peace.

   
I have been blessed with frequent opportunities to serve as guest preacher in area churches. (One ministerial colleague in whose parish I have preached frequently informally termed me his “theologian-in-residence.”) I have remained involved in theological education by serving on the Dean’s Advisory Board at Boston University School of Theology, where I served and taught before coming to Garrett-Evangelical. In my local community I serve on the board of Lamoille Home Health and Hospice, a remarkable asset in our community, and participate in the local ministerial association.

   
In my personal life I experienced the deep sadness of losing my wife, Ila (MDiv, ’89), after her courageous twenty-four year struggle with complications of Parkinson’s disease. With the help of a full-time live-in caregiver and a team of additional aides, we were able to care for Ila at home until her death in 2008.

More recently I have known the joy of entering into Christian marriage with LilaLee and establishing our home in Wolcott, VT. LilaLee, a retired high school teacher, also had experienced loss after caring for her late husband afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. She is a leader in our church, a certified lay speaker, and a member of our choir. She is an avid reader and enjoys working with fabrics. 

   
We enjoy our location in scenic Vermont with views from our home of mountain ranges extending nearly to the Canadian border. LilaLee has continued her love of cross-country skiing, kayaking, and biking. In good weather I enjoy daily twenty-five mile bicycle rides through the mountains, and I stick with indoor workouts when it is cold.

We confess to playing the role of doting grandparents to our grandchildren who live nearby, and we do our best to keep in touch with those who live much further away in Texas, Washington, and Australia.

   
We are heartened by all the good things that are happening at Garrett-Evangelical, and we join other friends of the seminary in praying for continuing faithfulness and growth in fulfilling its mission.