Rev Shirley Murphy
The thoughts, reflections, faith stories and meanderings of an 
Anglican Priest

During the Advent season we traditionally sing the Song of Mary and join with her in praising God for the special thing that he has done...

As we try to imagine what it was like that first Christmas, we build an image in our mind of a stable or a cave where animals are kept,...

Christmas is a time of surprises. We love to see the look of excitement and surprise on the faces of children as they open their...

Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born...

Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before you. When John came to you...

A dad was telling the story about the Christmas he and his wife agreed to let their baby son be the baby Jesus in the retelling of...

Darkness has the ability to change people’s behaviour. There are many examples but one of the more interesting was conducted at a...

Philippians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! It’s true that there are some people who always seem to have...

We hear John the Baptist calling, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every...

Most of us are familiar with the Australian poem, “Said Hanrahan” by John O’Brien (P.J. Hartigan). The menfolk are gathered on a frosty...

John the Baptist is the most unlikely Christmas character that we are ever going to meet, yet every year he shows up. He shows up to...

Waiting is not a popular past time in our culture today. We have our photos developed at a One Hour Photo Shop, take our clothes to Same...

“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have...

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”...

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the...

"What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” Mark 13:37 Are you attentive to Christ? Though this is a profoundly important question, there...

When I think back on the lives of my grandparents, I wonder what it must have been like. What was it like before electricity was...

This word hope is used a lot in our language. We might ask our children, “What do you hope for Christmas?” A counselor might ask, “What...

I used to have a computer called ‘Advent’. It was rather slow and involved a lot of waiting about for things to download. It was well...