Carla Robinson was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio. She was baptized and confirmed at St Phillip Lutheran Church. She attended Lutheran High School East from which she graduated in 1976. After one year at Cleveland State University she enrolled at Concordia College in Ann Arbor MI. She received her BA in 1980 with a double major in religious studies and biblical Greek.

She enrolled at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis MO. She did her pastoral internship at Saint Phillip Lutheran Church in Philadelphia PA. She received her MDiv in 1984, majoring in exegetical theology.

After two additional years of postgraduate studies she took a call to serve as the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Los Angeles CA in 1986. She served there for two years.

In 1988 she was called to serve as the pastor of Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Los Angeles, CA. During that time she served as circuit counselor for two years. She also served in a leadership role for BLOOM (Black Lutherans Organized for Ongoing Ministry).

In 1992 she took a call to serve as the pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Seattle, WA. While there she was the pastoral leadership for a capital campaign which culminated in the building of a new wing onto the church facility. She also started an AIDS ministry. In addition she worked with the association of Lutheran Churches which supported Concordia Lutheran Elementary School. She also served on the district youth ministry board. She was the keynote speaker for several youth events not only in Seattle but also in Idaho, California, and Ohio.
In 1999 after a brief time of serving as youth minister at Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church in Federal Way she withdrew from the ministerium of the Lutheran Church.

She began attending Saint Mark’s Episcopal cathedral in Seattle WA. She was received into the Episcopal Church in 2001. While at the Cathedral she served in several liturgical ministries including lector, altar guild and assistant lay minister. She also served as co-leader of Christian Initiation the cathedral catechumenate program.

In 2005 she joined the bishop’s staff. Her chief work was to serve as the Administrative Assistant to the Canon for Multicultural Ministries. She also served as the Administrative Assistant to the Canon to the Ordinary, the Administrative Assistant to the Bishop Suffragan and the Secretary for Vocations.

She was ordained to the diaconate and later to the priesthood in 2009. She served as the curate at the Church of the Resurrection in Bellevue. There she was a part of a multicultural ministry team.

In 2010 she became the vicar of All Saints Episcopal Church in Seattle’s Rainier Valley neighborhood. While there she and the congregation partnered with several organizations to do feeding programs, to provide a before and after school program, to house a homeless shelter, and other ministries.

In 2014 she came onboard as staff at The Church of the Ascension in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood. There she served as Director of Children and Youth Ministries and as Associate Priest. She continued that work at St James in Kent.

In 2018 she was invited to join Christ Episcopal Church in Seattle’s University District as Assistant Priest.

For the first half of 2022 she served as Interim Priest at St Matthew San Mateo in Auburn, WA.

In 2022 Carla became the Canon for Multicultural Ministries and Community Transformation in the Diocese of Olympia.

During her ministry in the Episcopal Church Carla has also served in several capacities including Deputy to General Convention, member of the Board of Examining Chaplains, instructor at DSOMAT and member of the Standing Committee. Carla is part of the Circles of Color.

Carla enjoys walking in the various terrains of western Washington, watching an occasional baseball game, and spending lots of time with her family.