Cindy Corell

Cindy occasionally returns to the U.S. and is available to visit congregations. Email her to extend an invitation to your congregation or organization.

Based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Cindy Corell serves as catalyst for food, land and agribusiness concerns, specifically in the ways our global siblings face injustice. Having served as a Joining Hands network companionship facilitator solely in Haiti, Cindy continues the work of connecting presbyteries and churches in the United States with similar networks in El Salvador, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Sri Lanka. Joining Hands networks strive to alleviate poverty and suffering through community education, advocacy, alternative economic activities, lifestyle changes, and spiritual grounding. Through Global Solidarity Collective, members of global communities gather to restore the wholeness of God’s creation and the healing of the human family through prayer, mutual visits, humble accompaniment, repentance, and mutual transformation. Presbyterian World Mission assigns mission personnel to help facilitate this effort, which is a ministry of the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

While serving as a volunteer youth advisor in her Virginia congregation, Cindy accompanied the young people on mission trips, hoping they would “find their missional feet” and experience the joy of serving others.

However, as Cindy participated in mission in settings ranging from the surrounding community to national destinations, she became keenly aware that serving others in Christ’s name was having a profound impact on her own life. Her spiritual awareness deepened, and she was “ready to dive deep into the sea of serving others.”

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In 2010, when she made her first trip to Haiti, Cindy sensed a heartfelt connection with this Caribbean country and its people. “I learned that everything I’d ever accomplished in 48 years of living had prepared me for being in that land of beautiful people,” she says. “I was forever changed, and I could no longer be satisfied in an ordinary job and only finding fulfilling and meaningful work on the side.”

So, Cindy left a 27-year career as a journalist to accept a Presbyterian mission appointment in Haiti. Having traveled to Haiti and having co-chaired a Virginia-based nonprofit organization that funds educational endeavors in that country, she knew ministry there would be fraught with challenges and frustrations. When facing difficult situations, Cindy is thankful that family, colleagues, friends and supporters stand with her. She realizes that progress comes slowly, and “rejoices in triumphs, however small.”

In 2024, Cindy relocated to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she serves as catalyst for food, land and agribusiness concerns, specifically related to injustices faced by people in Haiti, regionally and globally. She serves through Presbyterian World Mission and Presbyterian Hunger Program. She and colleagues in the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) gather people from various contexts to examine root causes of poverty and seek justice.

“I want people to feel comfortable asking questions, even tough questions, about why life in Haiti and other places has been so hard, especially for those working close to the land.”

One of Cindy’s favorite Bible verses is Philippians 4:8, a passage that bespeaks her positive outlook on life: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

“When we reach out our hand to help our neighbors as Christ commanded, so often we meet the people who match this lovely description,” Cindy says. “We might not recognize them as such right away. They might not even know how precious their own hearts are. They might be beaten by the negative forces of the world, yet they strive to help others.”

In her career as a journalist Cindy worked at two Virginia newspapers, the Union Star in Brookneal and the News Leader in Staunton, where she served as community conversations editor. In this role, she edited the opinion page and wrote editorials and a weekly column.

Cindy earned a bachelor’s degree in English and communications at Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia. She is a member of Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church in Fishersville, Virginia, where she was ordained as a deacon.

Birthday – May 22