Rhonda Joy Rubinson was born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Brooklyn and Fair Lawn, NJ. A Christian of Jewish heritage, Rev. Rhonda was baptized and confirmed by Bishop Paul Moore at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine at the Easter Vigil of 1987. She was one of the founders of the Congregation of Saint Saviour at the Cathedral in 1992, and the first to be sponsored for ordination by Saint Saviour in 2000. Following ordination, Rhonda served as assistant priest at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in Manhattan (2000 – 2007), as priest-in-charge at Saint Philip’s Episcopal Church in Harlem (2007 – 2021) and as priest-in-charge of the Church of Intercession (2013 – 2021). Since leaving Intercession, Rhonda has devoted herself to creating a screenplay, Pharaoh Moses (see an excerpt in the “Books” section of this website), and a book of essays, The Mark of Zero, which is awaiting publication.
Rhonda holds a B.A. from Barnard College, and M.A. degrees from the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Union Theological Seminary. A lighting designer and theatrical production manager by trade, she worked as the Technical Director of the Theatre and Dance Departments at Barnard College for a total of 28 years, and she has designed lights at Lincoln Center and many venues in New York, the United States, and worldwide, primarily for dance and symphonic productions. She designed the set and lights for Suzanne Vega’s World Tour ‘87, and while at Barnard directed John Cage in an original production of their own devising, The Bus to Stockport and Other Stories. Rhonda is also a US patent holder for an invention addressing indoor air quality.
Rhonda gives thanks to God and her amazing doctors for surviving stage 4 breast cancer (2008); she has published Lessons of the Spirit: A Christian Spiritual Companion for Your Breast Cancer Journey to help others do the same (contact Rhonda to order copies in English or Spanish). She is also the author of Steroid Spirituality: How the Bible Can Help Us Play Clean and the upcoming Adventures in Cooking with Mother Rhonda, a sample of which is included in the “Books” section of the website.