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

Have you ever used the phrase “running on the smell of on oily rag”? It’s a phrase we might use when talking about how little fuel there...

Parents needing to go away for a weekend on an emergency, leave their four children ranging from 15 to 8 at home. Dad says as they are...

It’s been one week since Easter, one week since the chaos and excitement, one week since the empty tomb, one week since our first...

A man and a woman were sitting next to each other on a plane. It was obvious that the man was keen to talk and was soon telling the...

Have you ever had a ton going on at work, at home, and everywhere in between…so much so that you thought you were really going to go...

Hi. I am terribly sorry that I have not been able to post regulalrly for the past 2 weeks as we moved house and had no internet...

Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: "How is my little boy? Is he going to be all...

What about your death gives meaning to your life today? In what ways is death inviting you to live more fully, to connect more deeply...

Have you ever been out trekking that at times was difficult with steep climbs that left you exhausted? In other places, the trail was...

Let me start with a piece of trivia. About 600 years ago England’s graveyards were filling up so it was decided to reuse the graves. As...

Today’s liturgy places Jesus’ passion front and centre. It’s a long reading. It’s hard to listen to; the betrayal, the pain, the death....

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to...

If a label is to be given to the people of the early years of 21st century, I think a good one would be "The Impatient Generation". We...

Is God silent? That’s a very real question. It’s certainly real for the Christian lying on a hospital bed of pain and not finding any...

There are a whole series of answers to the question, "How many Christians does it take to change a light build?" Roman Catholics: None....

I decided that today I would talk about the story about Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1-14). We often call it the sacrifice of Isaac. The...

In Luke 13:6-9 it is reported to Jesus that there were some Galileans who were worshipping at the temple, when Pilate set in troops and...

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. The flashing red in his rear-view mirror insisted he pull...

In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6-year-old son, who was dying of terminal leukaemia. Although her heart was...

Q: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? A: Psalms 117 Q: What is the longest chapter in the Bible? A: Psalms 119 Q: Which chapter...