Fellows Spotlight | Lindsey Cornett
The fellowship experience through Circle City Fellows gives Fellows a structured environment to learn about how their work is meaningful to the Mission of God and to the flourishing of the City of Indianapolis (and beyond). During nine months, Fellows create deep connections with their peers, focus on building spiritual and professional practices, and create tangible ways in which they can impact their place of work. Learn more about Fellow Lindsey Cornett!
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
I am a born and raised Floridian. I grew up in the Tampa Bay area, went to college at the University of Florida, and then lived in Orlando until 2015 while my husband was in graduate school. At that point, my husband and I moved to Grand Rapids, MI where we lived for four years. We moved to Indianapolis in 2019 when my husband got a job at the IU School of Medicine at IUPUI.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?
We live in Fountain Square and love it!
WHAT DO YOU DO/WHERE DO YOU WORK?
I am a stay-at-home mom to our three kids who are 7, 5, and 3 years old. As of this year, I am officially a homeschooling parent. I also work as a freelance writer and editor. I write and edit for KindredMom.com and TheDraftingDesk.com. My writing has also been featured at Coffee + Crumbs, Motherly, (in)courage, and Indianapolis Moms.
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP EXPERIENCE WITH CCF?
Our family attends Christ Church Broad Ripple, where David Bell (Executive Director) and his family also go to church. Our pastor suggested David talk to me about the program. I was immediately interested, but initially, I didn’t think that being a stay-at-home mom made me a good fit for the program. David and I talked a bit more about it, and when I heard how enthusiastic he was about having a work-at-home/stay-at-home parent in the program, I decided to go for it.
I DECIDED TO DO THE CCF FELLOWSHIP BECAUSE...
I love to learn, particularly when it comes to matters of faith, community, and creativity. I’m grateful to have a reason to intentionally dig into these topics more, when I otherwise might not find or make the time in the middle of my busy life.
CCF EXISTS TO HELP YOUNG PROFESSIONALS SEE HOW THEIR WORK MATTERS TO GOD AND HOW IT IS IMPORTANT TO HIS MISSION FOR THE WORLD. IS THIS SOMETHING YOUR FAMILY OR CHURCH TAUGHT YOU GROWING UP?
Though I grew up in a Christian home and always attending church, I don’t think I ever had a clear sense of God’s mission in the world until college. Even since then, my understanding of God’s mission and how it relates to my vocation have changed and grown. Ironically, it was always very explicitly taught that motherhood matters to God, but almost in direct contrast to “work” and vocation.
However, my dad has been a small business owner throughout my life, and while I never heard it explicitly stated, he always demonstrated a desire to glorify God with his work and demonstrate God’s love and care very tangibly to his employees. He set a great example in that regard.
IN YOUR CURRENT WORK, (WHETHER THAT BE WORKING FULL TIME/PART TIME, GOING TO SCHOOL, OR RAISING CHILDREN) HOW DO YOU SEE THE MISSION OF GOD AT WORK?
As a mom, my hope has always been to raise my children to be active participants in the building of God’s kingdom and the restoration of all things. I am trying to teach them to choose love above all, or, as David tells us often in the fellowship, to “put love where love is not,” (quoting Henri Nouwen, I believe). It is sometimes easy to lose sight of this in the day-in-day-out routines of cleaning messes, correcting behavior, mediating arguments, and making snacks. But every day, I try to see how Christ is present and at work in my motherhood.
As far as writing goes, I learned in college to notice the how engaging in creative work is one of the ways I can reflect the image of our creative God. I didn’t necessarily see, however, how reflecting God’s image necessarily involves participating in God’s mission. I’m still figuring out how my writing—especially when it’s not explicitly about spirituality–does this, and I’m loving the process of figuring it out.
THE FELLOWSHIP CONSISTS OF READING ARTICLES, PARTICIPATING IN COHORT DISCUSSIONS, MONTHLY SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES, ATTENDING SATURDAY FORUMS THAT FOCUS ON THE CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS, AND A COUPLE OF PROJECTS THAT WILL GROW YOU IN YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LIFE. WHICH OF THESE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO AND WHY?
I am quite a nerd, to be honest, and I am thoroughly enjoying all the readings each week as well as the Saturday forums. I love to learn, but it’s been quite a while since I participated in any kind of formal or structured study. All this reading is right up my alley.
BY THE END OF THE FELLOWSHIP, I HOPE TO HAVE…
a more clear vision of how my motherhood, creative work, and faith can work in harmony with one another, rather than often feeling kind of disjointed, or like one distracts or detracts from the others. As someone who is still relatively new to Indianapolis, I am also really looking forward to learning more about our city and how my family and I can best participate in what God is up to here.
