Who’s Who
- Fr Sam Tanna-Korn
Father Sam is the Rector of St Paul’s Wokingham, along with St Nicholas Emmbrook. He arrived in the parish in August 2025.
Fr Sam grew up mainly in South Wales, before studying Theology at university, working at a cathedral, and training for ordination both in Cambridge and at the World Council of Churches study centre in Geneva. Since ordination, he has been a parish priest in north London, in Liverpool and in Westminster, and immediately before coming to Wokingham he was a school chaplain in a large comprehensive school in Islington for six years.
Fr Sam is married to Pinky, a government solicitor. He enjoys countryside walks, opera, cricket (he used to be an umpire), music (especially Bruce Springsteen), and baking bread. In church he enjoys storytelling, music, and finding God in beauty and mystery.
As well as being the parish priest at St Paul’s and St Nicholas’s, Fr Sam is a governor at St Paul’s and St Cecilia’s schools and a trustee of Soulscape, a local Christian charity working with young people.
- Rev’d Cara Smart
Assistant Curate
Cara spent her childhood in Cheshire before moving to Reading, then Tadley, and now Wokingham. Prior to ordination, she worked as a toy tester and for Macmillan Publishers. Cara trained for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon alongside being a Children’s Worker for her previous benefice of 6 churches. She was licensed to the parish in July 2020 and ordained deacon in September 2020.
Cara is married to Richard who is Programme Manager for UL, and they have two children and an excitable wheaten terrier. She enjoys exploring new places to walk the dog, especially beaches and woods, and also loves music and enjoys playing the flute in her spare time, as well as baking, spending time with friends and catching up over meals and drinks together. Reading, poetry, environmental and social justice all play a part of Cara’s faith and life, and she loves the chance to get creative.
- Rev’d Jane Kraft
Jane is a Londoner born and bred. She trained as a nurse at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, in the 1960s and did her midwifery training in Bristol. She returned to Barts as a Junior Sister before becoming a Night Sister and later a Ward Sister. During this time, she met her husband who was, at the time, a Senior Registrar in the Psychiatric Department. They were married in Barts-the-Less in 1972 and, subsequently, had two sons. Their older son became a Psychotherapist, while their younger son is the Executive Director of a private school in South London. Sadly, Jane was widowed in 2008. Jane is very close to her family and has three delightful grandchildren aged 9,6 and 3 who give her a great joy.
In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and entertaining, does crosswords and sudoku, knits garments for her family and is a keen traveller.
Jane lived in London for most of her life and served at Christ Church, Southgate, as a Licensed Lay Minister for 8 years before training for ordination at the North Thames Ministerial Training Course; and after her ordination, continued to serve in the Diocese of London. She was appointed Team Vicar in the Chipping Barnet Team (Diocese of St Albans) in 2007 and retired from full-time ministry in 2015 when she moved to Owlsmoor.
Jane has a certificate in Spiritual Direction from Sarum College. She holds Permission to Officiate in the Berkshire Archdeaconry and continues in active ministry. She is also Associate Area Dean of Sonning. - Rev’d Judi Hattaway
Judi spent her curacy in Guildford Diocese as Lead Chaplain at Frimley Park Hospital and curate to two churches in Frimley. Prior to that she worked as a chaplain at Broadmoor High Secure Hospital.
Over the last twenty years she has been, variously, Training Co-ordinator for the Diocese of Monmouth, and, for eight years, Parish Development Adviser in the Archdeaconry of Berkshire.
Judi’s background is in adult and children’s education, adult training, group facilitation, counselling, and consultancy. She has worked in Christian contexts for over twenty years.
She has a BA with Honours in English and Philosophy from the University of Kent, a Master’s Degree from the University of Liverpool in Adult Education with Theological Reflection, a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education, a Post-Graduate Counselling qualification, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Ministry and Mission from the Southern Theological Education and Training Course in Salisbury (STETS).
She has four grown-up children and six grandchildren. Two of the grandsons have statements of special educational need – Judi has a special interest in people with learning disabilities. Judi also runs a private counselling practice.
In any spare time, Judi likes entertaining, knitting and sewing, reading, going to concerts, films, art galleries, and the theatre, and having a laugh.
- Peter Wells
Churchwarden
Peter Wells has been living in the parish for over 20 years after moving down to Wokingham with his family from North Nottinghamshire. He has been elected churchwarden since 2014.
Peter originally hails from Portsmouth, but has lived in west and east Sussex, Essex, South Yorkshire (Sheffield and Dinnington) and Nottinghamshire where he lived in Worksop and attended the Priory church for many years. Since settling in Wokingham, he has now retired from working in IT for the financial services sector.
He is married to Pauline who has retired from teaching (Mathematics). They have 3 children who are all married, and currently 6 grandchildren.
When asked, he says of St Paul’s “when we moved here we were looking for an inclusive church with a catholic tradition and found St Paul’s as the ideal fit. We have also found it to be a very warm welcoming community that cares for everyone irrespective of age, ability, sexuality, nationality or political persuasion. We love the beautiful building and vibrant choir.”
