God willing and the people consenting, the Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island will ordain Lisa Marie DeBenedittis, Aissa Hillebrand, Paula Andrea Kong-Sinclair, and Robert F. Russo , and receive Jiha Lim to the Sacred of Priests on Saturday, June 13, at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. The ordination will be open for in-person attendance, and will be live-streamed.
Clergy who plan to vest and process are kindly asked to let us know by REGISTERING HERE.
Meet the Ordinands
Lisa DeBenedittis
Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Humanities from New York University and a postdoctoral training in Jungian Analysis. She is a licensed psychoanalyst in private practice and a supervising analyst, arising from her conviction that listening deeply is itself a sacred act. Lisa has had a career in academia, most recently on the faculty of The New School, where she was also Vice Provost for Curriculum and Learning, guiding teaching and learning across a large urban university. Lisa is a vowed member of the new monastic Community of the Incarnation, through which she has found a deep call to ministries of accompaniment, especially in the jail and the hospital -- where suffering and sacred merge.
She is mother to her daughter Olivia and son-in-law Scott, and delighted grandmother to Reece, who live in New Orleans. Lisa lives in Sea Cliff, carried by the prayer of the Cathedral of the Incarnation community, whose ongoing support on her path to the priesthood has been a treasured gift.
Aissa Hillebrand
Before entering discernment for ordained ministry, Aissa Hillebrand served for more than fifteen years as Director of Child Life Services in pediatric healthcare hospitals, where she led interdisciplinary teams, developed therapeutic programming, and advocated for trauma-informed, compassionate care. Her leadership extended into mentoring, policy development, and program design.
Aissa served for 9 years within the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island at the George Mercer Jr. Memorial School of Theology, supporting diocesan formation, Safe Church initiatives, and operational leadership. Her call to ministry has also been shaped by local and global experiences, including volunteering in healthcare settings and food ministries, as well as a medical mission trip to Chulucanas, Peru.
Aissa will complete her Master of Divinity on June 21st from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with concentrations in Child Development and Speech Communications from Syracuse University. She is currently serving as the Assistant Rector and Curate at St. Mark's Church, Islip.
Aissa enjoys time with her husband, Walter, and their two children, Amalia and Emmanuel.
Paula Kong-Sinclair
The Rev. Paula Kong-Sinclair is a seminarian at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkley, California, pursuing a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree. She is currently serving as deacon and doing field placement assignment at St. Peters Episcopal Church in Rosedale. At St. Peter’s she is actively engaged in the life and ministry of the parish. She is a representative for St. Peters with the Queens Power organization where the mission is to organize residents to build the power needed to fight for and win justice in affordable housing, transportation options, public school performance and quality of life issues. She is also involved in the food pantry, domestic violence and homeless shelter ministries where food, clothing, books, toys and spiritual encouragement are given. She leads a Lily Endowment Inc. sponsored Christian Parenting and Caregiver program at St. Peters where through training focus is on raising children in the Christian way. This includes building programs for children and parents/caregivers to learn together, bible study program for young adults and young families and providing moments for parents and caregivers to selfcare.
Paula’s sending parish is St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Queens Village where she worshipped with her family for almost 30 years. She has a servant’s heart and contributed to various ministries. This included serving two terms on the Vestry with one being Chairperson of the Finance Committee. She has served as Lay Eucharistic Minister, lay preacher, lector, Sunday School teacher, Youth Leader, Adult Formation coordinator and presenter, Co-chair of the150th anniversary celebration, member of the Willing Workers breakfast program and became a cursillista while there.
Paula has completed three units of Clinical Pastoral Education and is continuing to the fourth unit at the Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside.
Paula is a New York State Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a MBA in Finance from St. John’s University and a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of the West Indies (Mona campus). Paula has worked in the accounting and finance field for over 35 years and currently works as a Director at a Global Wealth and Asset Management firm in Manhattan, NY.
In the community Paula has served as treasurer for the Elmont Youth Soccer club and is one of the founding members and managing directors of the Jamaican Boyz soccer program in Rosedale. This program provides an outlet for the youth in the community and opens opportunities for talented players to be showcased nationally and internationally. The youth in the program serve as mentors and are involved in community service in the area.
She lives in Valley Stream with husband Garth, children Justin, Jonathan, and Abigail. She is grateful for the love of her parents and the fervent prayers of her mother. She enjoys traveling, reading, listening to music, playing badminton and pickleball, enjoys time in Jamaica especially at her happy place – the beach and spending time with family and friends.
Jiha Lim
I was born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in Valley Stream here on Long Island. My formal discernment and training to become a priest began in the Roman Catholic Church. I first attended the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston and Queens College in Flushing to study philosophy. Then I proceeded to continue my studies of theology in the Seminary of Saint Joseph in Yonkers. I was ordained a deacon in 2015 and priest in 2016.
After eight years of ministry in the Roman Catholic Church, I felt a new and strong calling from God to serve in the Episcopal Church. As I spent substantial time learning more about Episcopalian values and identity, I fell in love with the Episcopal Church more deeply. I eventually started an official process of discernment and training with the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, which included the priestly formation in the Mercer School of Theology.
I am deeply grateful to God and to the Episcopal Church for this renewed calling to serve as a priest, and I am very excited to continue my journey of ministry together with the wonderful people of Long Island. I want to contribute to the growth and continued success of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island by using many different gifts God generously shared with me.
I can speak four different languages with varying levels of fluency. I hold good mix of standard academic degrees and ecclesiastical academic degrees including Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Sacred Theology Baccalaureate, Master of Arts in Theology, and Master of Divinity. I am a gigantic fan of baseball, an avid walker, and a great lover of detective stories. But most importantly, I enjoy being with people I love, especially my family and friends, both in the church and outside the church, with my wife being an eternally irreplaceable favorite.
Robert Russo
Robert has been an active member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation for more than 20 years. He has served in numerous roles, including council member, lector, youth group mentor, pastoral team member, and Eucharistic Visitor.
Professionally, Robert has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry.
For the past seven years, he has served as a Residential Counselor in a Level 2 Congregate Group Home for adult men living with mental illness.
Robert holds a BBA in Human Resources Management from Pace University and is currently pursuing an MA in Christian Theology and Spirituality from the Mercer School of Theology’s Cathedral College Program. He looks forward to humbly and joyfully embracing ordained ministry within the Transitional Diaconate while continuing his formation for the Priesthood.