Iowa Clergywomen
The Rev. Dr. Mary Lautzenhiser Bellon (right) celebrated her retirement on the same day that her daughter, the Rev. Laurel A. Capesius, was ordained an elder in full connection in the Iowa Annual Conference. (Iowa Conference Communications Photo)
Iowa Conference Communications | June 25, 2024
The Rev. Dr. Mary Lautzenhiser Bellon had an extra reason to celebrate her official retirement day: the ordination of her daughter, Laurel.
“With Laurel’s ordination, my family celebrates three generations of clergy," said the now-retired Bellon. "Although my parents are deceased I know they are so proud of Laurel as their legacy of love and justice continues to flow down the line.”
On June 9, 2024, Bishop Kennetha J Bigham-Tsai ordained Rev. Laurel A. Capesius as an Elder in Full Connection in the Iowa Annual Conference and officially recognized Bellon's retirement.
Bellon completed 36 years of full-time service, having been ordained Deacon 1988, and then ordained as an Elder in Full Connection in 1990 in the Troy Annual Conference, now a part of the Upper New York Conference.
Capesius was Commissioned as a Probationary Elder in the Iowa Annual Conference in 2019. She will begin her tenure as the Director of the Wesley Foundation at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina on July 1, 2024.
“I couldn’t imagine a more special moment than to have these milestones side by side," said Capesius. "We are both entering a new chapter and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.”