Betsy is a lifelong Episcopalian who joined Christ Church Cranbrook shortly after her family move to Michigan. She has two adult children and is married to Joe LaVela. She earned a Master of Divinity from Bethel Seminary in 2010 (summa cum laude) and has served as a children’s pastor at Crossroads International Church (Amsterdam, the Netherlands), Renaissance Church (NJ), and at New Jersey Episcopal churches in Gladstone and Summit, and has lead programming in Chatham, Bernardsville and in Newark. She has taught all ages in the church, led youth mission trips, preached, written, and produced nativity plays, led countless VBS programs, and developed a series of seven VBS camp experiences designed to help participants become better stewards of God’s amazing gifts of water, soil, trees, oceans, critters and more. Outside of church, Betsy tutors a Nigerian American adult pursuing her GED and her middle school daughters (over Zoom).