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

A man tells of being on a bus tour in Rome which was led by a guide who spoke English. Their first stop was a church in a piazza which...

We’re almost into the end of a month in the new year, a time of change and transition often marked by the calendar more than the...

“We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” That’s what the disciples say when Jesus tells them to “give [the great crowd]...

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” With those words Samuel has opened his ears and heart to what God has to say. He’s...

Please watch this video from Julian's new YOU TUBE CHANNEL called THE AWAKENING. This video talks about the Miracle of Words. Please...

Harry Lipsig was eighty-eight years old. He decided to leave the law firm he had spent most of 60 years building up. He decided to open a...

Do you like to be surprised? I guess it depends on what kind of surprise it is. Jesus once returned to his hometown Nazareth and went to...

The book of Jeremiah is one of the longest books of the Old Testament. It is also one of the most thrilling. The author of this book is...

Please watch this video from Julian's new YOU TUBE CHANNEL called THE AWAKENING. This video talks about Forgiveness. Please watch, like,...

"He [Handel] would frequently declare the pleasure he felt in setting the Scriptures to music, and how contemplating the many sublime...

If there was ever an example of a family that simply could not get on, it was Jacob’s family. It seems that Jacob would be dogged with...

Most of us have stories to tell about weddings. There was the groom whose car had broken down on the main road on his way to the church....

Please watch the second video in Julian's new YOU TUBE CHANNEL called THE AWAKENING. This video talks about making time for YOU. Please...

The human body is amazing. What do you think of your own body? We can be very critical of our own bodies and find it hard to be...

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" (or "12 Days of Christmas") is a holiday classic — and while it may not be as catchy as some of our other...

This is a new You tube channel called THE AWAKENING started by my husband Julian in which he talks about all aspects of faith, belief,...

At about 3:20 a.m. on March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-old manager of a bar returned to her quiet residential neighbourhood,...

The last year has revealed much about us, for good and for bad. Trials expose us, confront us, and purify us, and God has given us trials...

There are times when we ask ourselves, "Is God really listening to our prayers?" "Things have turned out so wrong for me – where was God...

What a contrast! The picture that St Luke gives in his account of the birth of Jesus is one that is peaceful and calm. The only negative...