#517 It isn’t gluttony, honest
In my little mouse-hole in the choir, I have been busy planning for the APCM. That is to say, the Annual Parmesan-Cheddar-Mozzarella, where I sit down and eat three whole cheeses in a row. It is a massive physical demand and takes a lot of preparation. I’m in training now, so if you see me scoffing a wedge of cheese the size of a cricket ball, please remember this isn’t gluttony: this is an athlete pushing his body to the absolute limit.
I’m told that the humans of the church also have an APCM in the next couple of weeks. It’s probably not as much fun as mine, though.
Fr Sam writes
Ever since I arrived in Wokingham last summer, there has been a big festival on the horizon. First it was Christmas, and then it was Easter. With both of those duly celebrated, my perspective has changed a bit!
First, I feel like I really know my way around the parish: I know what’s going on and (most of the time) what’s about to happen. Second, I feel I can look to the future a little more without a massive event on the horizon. A little dose of the everyday isn’t a bad thing at all.
After being on holiday last week, I’ve been back busy this week, not least having spent time in three different schools. In your prayers, can I ask you to remember especially St Cecilia’s, whose new headteacher Matt Lappin will be starting in the next couple of weeks.
Image: “The Road to Emmaus”, Altobello Melone
This Sunday: the road to Emmaus
This Sunday is the third Sunday of Easter: we continue our encounters with the risen Christ by journeying along the Way and meeting him in the breaking of the bread.
In our first reading, we continue listening to St Peter’s preaching of the Resurrection (Acts 2.14a,36-41). Our Gospel reading takes us with the two disciples who are walking with Emmaus, and discover that Jesus was with them even when they didn’t notice (Luke 24.13-35).
In the evening, we are continuing our sermon series on the Seven Deadly Sins. Revd Cara Smart is preaching on Gluttony. As it is the 150th anniversary of the death of the composer Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the choir and organ music will all be his compositions.
Image: “The supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio
Services this Sunday
| 8am | St Paul’s | BCP Mass | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn |
| 9.30am | St Paul’s | Parish Mass | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn |
| Organ prelude: Variations on ‘O Filii’ – Demessieux Anthem: This joyful Eastertide – arr. Wood Voluntary: Canticle on ‘St Fulbert’ – Slater | |||
| 10am | Woosehill Church | Morning Worship | Revd Cara Smart |
| 11am | St Nicholas’ | Community Eucharist | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn |
| 6.15pm | St Paul’s | Choral Evensong with sermon | Fr Sam Tanna-Korn & Revd Cara Smart |
Coming up: Annual meetings
Our annual parish meetings (often known as the APCM) will take place on Sunday 26 April 2026 and will be held in the Parish Rooms at 5pm.
Anyone on the Electoral Roll is invited to attend the meeting.
At the meeting we will need to elect or re-elect two churchwardens for St Paul’s, four Deanery Synod Reps and up to five PCC members.
If you are interested in any of these roles and have been on the Electoral Roll for at least six months, please speak to Fr Sam, Lesley or one of the churchwardens as soon as possible and complete a nomination form. PCC meetings are held six times a year on Monday evenings.
If you wish to raise a matter under ‘Any Other Business’, please let Fr Sam or Lesley know by the Sunday before the meeting (19 April 2026). If you would like to ask any questions about the reports (especially the financial report) it is also very helpful if you are able to let us know beforehand as we might not be able to give a full answer off the cuff.
The papers for the meeting and the nomination forms are all available on our website and in hard copy at the back of church. Tea and coffee will be served at the start of the meeting.
Please consider whether you are called to stand, and pray for the life and work of the PCC, its effectiveness, commitment and openness to the guidance of God.
Lesley Ruddock, PCC Secretary
Talking Rainbows
Would you like to have fun with some wonderful 5-7 year old Rainbows and help them take part in Girl Guiding activities and crafts each week?
1st Oakingham Rainbows are looking for volunteers to help at their meetings at the Parish Rooms every Tuesday 5:15pm-6:45pm during term time.
Please contact Julia by email if you are interested: firstoakingham@outlook.com
This week’s calendar: our national patron
Next Thursday 23 April is of course St George’s Day, the feast day of the patron saint of England and indeed the patron saint of the Church of England. St George is a slightly enigmatic figure, traditionally thought to have been a Roman soldier in the Middle East, martyred under Diocletian for refusing to renounce his faith. He has been associated with England since the Middle Ages.
And the affair with the dragon? That’s even more mysterious, but it certainly places him in line with the images of St Michael the Archangel in the book of Revelation, and with Jesus Christ himself, who fulfilled the ancient prophecy and bruised the serpent’s head.
Image: “The fight: St George kills the dragon” by Edward Burne Jones
