Fr Peter Cheney

Dear faith community,

On December 21, my close friend Leo Dressel died at age 77. Leo was an incredible servant leader who spent his adult life as a leader in Jesuit and Episcopal schools. Earlier this week, The Rev’d David A. Madison, the current Executive Director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, shared the following reflection.

NAES supports the leaders of more than 400 schools in the Episcopal Church, including St. Michaels and Imago Dei here in Tucson.

—Peter

A Life Rich with Purpose

He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? —Micah 6:8

This past Saturday, the All Saints’ Episcopal Day School community in Phoenix, AZ celebrated the life and legacy of Leo P. Dressel. Leo was a lifelong educator who had a transformative impact on thousands of students and adults over his almost sixty-year career in schools across the country. In 2019, he retired from All Saints’ in order to have more time to care for his beloved wife Jan.

As a former member of the NAES Governing Board, Leo wrote a message to the NAES community prior to concluding his tenure at All Saints’. In it, he reflected upon the importance of living a life of purpose and how he looked forward to continuing that pursuit during his next chapter.

“We must endeavor to find our purpose and not wait for purpose to find us. In schools and parishes we are blessed to be immersed in a place and an enterprise saturated by purpose of the noblest kind. I shall miss that blessing when I retire. I know that I don’t want to enter retirement waiting for purpose to find me, but there are many details yet to be determined. Nonetheless I have one clear commitment no matter what: I shall live a life of purpose until the day that my time on earth ends.”

Leo blessed us with his life of striving for justice and peace while respecting the dignity of every human being. Inspired by his roots in the Society of Jesus, he always pointed towards the greater glory of God. He also blessed us by recognizing the centrality of this work to the mission of all Episcopal schools. As Leo noted, we are each blessed to be immersed in this mission. As we live our specific vocation in the classroom, the chapel, the offices, or on the athletic field, we model the importance of this mission to the young people we serve. In so doing, each of us contributes to making the world a better place; where the kingdom of God can become a reality here and now.

Today, God has blessed us with another day. Let us not take that blessing for granted. May today be a further opportunity for us to embrace our purpose of living as Christian servant leaders.

The Rev’d David A. Madison, D.Min.
NAES Executive Director