#512 Streams of living water flow
Fr Sam writes
I am just back from the Mothers’ Union event this afternoon where I was invited to present my Desert Island Discs. Choosing twenty pieces was easy: choosing eight was very hard indeed. Thank you to Teri and to everyone who put this occasion on: I thoroughly enjoyed it. (Almost as much as I enjoyed the 120 11-year-olds from the Holt who visited St Paul’s this morning with more questions than I believed possible!)
Meanwhile, Lent is continuing, and I am already ankle-deep in Holy Week planning. If I don’t turn up on Sunday morning, please come and rescue me (bring a shovel).
Finally, please can I call to your attention the evening of Sunday 15 March, when Bishop Mary will be preaching at Evensong on the subject of Lust as part of our series on the Seven Deadly Sins. It promises to be very interesting: she mentions it to me every time I see her!
This Sunday: worship in Spirit and in Truth
This Sunday we hear of the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, a complex passage of theology, allusions, and imagery. Reading it in advance will be helpful if you are able to!
The first reading is from St Paul’s letter to the Romans (Romans 5.1-11): he writes about the consequences of justification in our lives. The second reading is the story of the encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4.5-42), when Jesus speaks of giving streams of living water, and tells her that ‘the time is coming when you will worship in spirit and in truth’.
Image: “Christ and the Woman of Samaria” by Guercino
Services this Sunday
| 9.30am | St Paul’s | Parish Mass | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn | |
| Anthem: Wash me throughly from my wickedness – Wesley Voluntary: Fugue in A minor (BWV 543ii) – Bach | ||||
| 10am | Woosehill Church | Holy Communion | Revd Wes Hampton | |
| 11am | St Nicholas’s | Community Eucharist | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn | |
Stations of the Cross
The traditional devotion of Stations of the Cross will take place each Friday during Lent at midday. This devotion uses the fourteen images around St Paul’s to explore the journey of Jesus to Calvary and is a powerful way to meditate upon his suffering and love. It lasts about 40 minutes and each week will be led by a different member of the church community.
Community Showcase
St Nicholas’ Church and Emmbrook Village Hall Committee invite you to our Community Showcase. Come and join us to meet some of the people and local groups that make Emmbrook special.
The event is on Saturday 21 March between 2 and 4pm in Emmbrook Village Hall. It is part of the St Nicholas 50th birthday celebrations.
Bible Society visit
We have recent adopted the Bible Society as one of our three parish charities. We have a representative from the charity, James Markham, coming to speak over coffee at both the 9.30 service at St Paul’s and the 11am service at St Nick’s. Do come and hear about the work we are supporting with our giving.
Lucky Numbers
The Lucky Numbers draw for February took place over coffee after communion at St Nicholas on Sunday 22nd February 2026.
Congratulations to the lucky winners:
£50 No. 32 Petra Johnstone
£25 No. 65 Diane Tuck
£15 No. 31 Petra Johnstone
£10 No. 50 Yvonne Pett-Ridge
Lucky Numbers is a monthly draw: a share in the draw costs £2 per month and the total number of shares is unlimited. Should you wish to take part, supporting our parish church fund for restoration and renewals work on St Paul’s church building and enjoying the chance of being a winner, please contact Tony Roberts or Liz Gallagher at St Nicholas, Emmbrook or Jenny Perris at St Paul’s. Tony Roberts can also be contacted by phone on 0118 9795351 or 07810 643770.
Thank you to all subscribers to the draw, and thanks to those cheque/cash members for their recent renewals. For those who have not yet renewed this year please remit to Tony Roberts as soon as you can as the membership list is reviewed and refreshed in February. New members are always welcomed, as inevitably a small number are lost most years for a various reasons and we should like to maintain our current ratio of income to payouts in prizes.
This week’s calendar: two faithful witnesses
This Saturday 7 March is the feast day of Saints Perpetua and Felicity. They were were early Christian martyrs in 3rd-century North Africa who remained steadfast in their faith even when imprisonment and death threatened them. Their courage and trust in God remind us to live with the same faithfulness – standing firm in our beliefs and encouraging one another in hope and love even in difficult times.
