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

The patron saint of Italy, Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel...

Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. As it falls near the equinox, the...

'Serve one another humbly in love.' Galatians 5:13 NIV   Love is mostly something you do instead of something you feel. Paul writes,...

"I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." - Psalms 34:1 We got this email from a friend and...

'Understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is.' Ephesians 3:18 Paul writes: 'I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources...

'No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.' 1 Corinthians 10:24   Self-pity can be deadly. It tells the wife and mother...

At some time, we all face discouragement.  Discouragement leads us to despair, to become depressed, unhappy, to lose hope.  Let’s take a...

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the...

The Book of Ruth relates that Ruth and Orpah, two women of Moab, had married two sons of Elimelech and Naomi, Judeans who had settled in...

“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass  .  .  .  and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind  .  .  .  and it was so.”...

As I was walking down life’s highway, many years ago I came upon a sign that read, “Heavens Grocery Store..” When I got a little closer,...

So I saw this sculpture art somewhere online, and then I regret not seeing it in real on my many travels to Europe. This sculpture is by...

'If you can control your tongue, you are mature.' James 3:2 The Bible say a lot about the dangers of the tongue. James devotes an entire...

How many times have you heard the phrase, “I am just going to take my ball and go home!”  We quickly think about a children’s playground...

Tonight we are remembering three significant actions of Jesus in the last day of his life, actions that are both firsts and lasts, the...

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit. 'the Day of the Festival of Patrick'), is a religious...

“Temptation...is common to man.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 Maybe you have heard it said that opportunity only knocks once, but temptation...

'How often should I forgive a brother?' Matthew 18:21 The Bible says, 'Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother...

The beginning of the calendar year is always a great time for reflection – so many of us stop and think about the year past and start...

A church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. 'I've gone...