Guided toa new Mission
New Christchurch City Missioner Corinne Haines has seen her life take some big turns this year, as she tells Charlie Gates.
Corinne Haines believes her new role as Christchurch city missioner was meant to be. She retired in January after 43 years working for Trimble Navigation, then in February her husband of 47 years, Carey Haines, died suddenly.
In March, she was asked if she would lead the Christchurch City Mission for a short period while it found a permanent leader.
‘‘I thought, maybe this is what I am supposed to do.’’ ‘‘It will get me through the cold of winter and I will have something to get up for.’’
She also felt some kind of divine guidance towards the role.
‘‘I do think it was meant to be… You don’t know what [God] has in mind for you, but this is obviously what it was.’’
Then she was asked if she could take on the role for longer and agreed to lead the Mission four days a week until January 2024.
‘‘I was really enjoying it and could see all these things I wanted to do.
‘‘I bought into everything that was going on here.’’
She could see how her Anglican faith interlocked with the purpose of the Christchurch City Mission, which helps the most vulnerable people in the city with a night shelter, foodbank, temporary housing, and addiction programmes, among many other services.
‘‘Jesus said that what you do for the least of society you are doing for me.
‘‘Jesus was the ultimate social worker, he helped the sick, he helped the poor, he looked after housing and reintegrated people back into communities.’’
‘‘It is really doing what he said: ‘Love your neighbour as you would love yourself.’
‘‘I keep thinking, this is what we have to do.’’
She could also see how her long career in business could help the Mission. Haines joined a company called Computer Bureau in Christchurch when she was 27. It later became DataCom and was then purchased by American company Trimble Navigation in 1991.
By the time she retired this year, Haines was finance manager for the Australia-Pacific region and managing director of the New Zealand company, which builds satellite navigation systems for mapping, surveying, construction, transport and agriculture. She had seen the company grow from 41 staff based in Christchurch to more than 400 across New Zealand. In 2015, she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business.
She also led the company through the Canterbury earthquakes and a massive fire that destroyed its Christchurch headquarters and injured three firefighters in 2011.
The first she heard of the blaze was a call from firefighters at 12.30am. She immediately went to the offices on Birmingham Drive in Middleton, but was not expecting a full-blown emergency.
‘‘I went into the road and smoke was billowing everywhere. I realised this was no small fire.
‘‘There were flames through the roof and I don’t know how many fire engines. The street was full of flashing lights.’’
She was at the scene until 5am. The fire destroyed half the building. The insurance claim was $8 million and took four years to settle.
‘‘We lost everything for 100
‘‘Jesus was the ultimate social worker, he helped the sick, he helped the poor, he looked after housing and reintegrated people back into communities.’’
people. Every desk, chair and computer.’’
Haines led the company through a rebuild, delayed when the contractor, Mainzeal, went bust. She now finds herself overseeing the completion of new facilities for the Mission’s Hereford St headquarters, including a five-bed transitional housing facility, a cafe and a social enterprise catering business.
‘‘I never thought I would have to do that again, but we are building something across the road.’’
She sees other similarities in her new role.
‘‘The job here is, in some ways, not dissimilar. We don’t have to make a profit, but it’s still a $10m business, and you still have to break even.
‘‘You still need those financial skills. You still have to think where are we going to get the money from, how are we going to manage our costs and get through every month without making a loss.’’
She wants to make changes to the Mission based on what she has learned in business.
‘‘They are little behind-thescenes things, rather than outwardfacing stuff. Tidying things up and making it a bit more efficient.
‘‘Some of the previous missioners have been quite entrepreneurial, but we are looking at stability and a strong, stable base.
‘‘Things like better systems, so people can get the data they need and be more efficient about how they record data. Payroll and integrated financial systems – I think I can add value with that sort of thing.
‘‘If that’s my legacy, that’s fine because I’m a behind-the-scenes person, so that will set it up for the next person, who may have that outward-facing entrepreneurial view.’’
Her role as city missioner is also an extension of her passion for Christchurch. She grew up in the city’s west, attending Wharenui School and Kirkwood Intermediate in Riccarton, then Christchurch Girls’ High School.
She lived and worked in the city, raising two children with her husband. Her son works in Wellington and her daughter is still in Christchurch.
‘‘My daughter is my mentor. She keeps me grounded and in tune with the younger generation.
‘‘She rings me every day, and we chat every day. She is very supportive of me.’’
She is also an active member of the Parish of St Barnabas in Fendalton. She helped raise money to repair its historic church after it was damaged in the 2011 earthquakes. The church reopened in 2017 after $2m of repairs.
She enjoys the 10am church service on a Thursday.
‘‘I find it nice to have a bit of quiet time.
‘‘They have a cup of tea afterwards, so it’s also nice to socialise outside of work.’’
She has also been chairperson of the Government rebuild company O¯ ta¯ karo since 2018. It is responsible for delivering rebuild anchor projects like the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre.
‘‘It’s big dollars, it’s big projects, and it can be quite challenging.’’
She believes the convention centre is bringing money into the city centre, but it will take time to turn a profit and bring more vibrancy to central Christchurch.
‘‘It is proving its worth now. For big conferences, it is basically full to the middle of next year.
‘‘It is early days. It is quiet. But, once you get the hotels, the Catholic precinct and the Court Theatre built, that will tie up that side of town with some vibrancy. Then it won’t feel so quiet and isolated.’’
She is philosophical about this unexpected new chapter in her life at the Mission, sparked by the loss of her husband.
‘‘He was listening to music and just died. I feel like that was the right thing for him.
‘‘I felt that he would not have any regrets in his life. He would not have wanted to be a patient. He was a nurse. He wouldn’t have wanted to be dependent on anyone. He was taken when it was the right thing to happen.’’
She has had to adjust to life without him.
‘‘He gave me the opportunity to do everything I wanted to do in my professional life.
‘‘He did everything. I mean, shopping, cooking, washing, ironing, gardening. Tea on the table at quarter to six. He did all of that for me, which was so helpful.
‘‘I’ve had to pick up all those duties now. I found out in the first week that if you strip your bed in the morning, there is no fairy to make it during the day.’’
Being alone also meant she could commit to her new role.
‘‘I have to think of myself, rather than the two of us now. This is a role that is not quite 24/7, but you have to give some talks at night or go to a meal or a function. I don’t now have to think I have to tell Carey I won’t be home. I am independent now to do what I want to do.
‘‘This is what life is going to be. We had a really great relationship and that period of my life is now closed, and I’ve been opened up to a new period in my life.’’