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

We know her for her sorrow. She longed for a son, but couldn’t have children. We know her for her faithfulness. She never gave up hope...

The Book of Job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time, and provides a profound discussion on the suffering of a just man. The...

We have all experienced anger at some point in our lives, and it can be a real problem. Though it starts as a harmless feeling, it can...

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2)....

In the early 16th century, Albrecht Dürer created the pen and ink drawing we know of as Praying Hands, or Betende Hände in German. The...

God exists everywhere and anywhere. He is eternal and omnipresent. And not only is he present everywhere, he is everywhere pursuing us....

One of the fascinating things about Christianity is how very different the great men and women of God are. George Müller (1805–1898) was...

In the midst of every personal or national tragedy, the cry of the human heart is very much, ‘Where is God?’ The problem of pain and...

Psalm 119 shows us that the Word of God should have top priority in our lives. It stands as the giant among the Psalms - it is the...

Movie-goers boarded boats floating on the shimmering waters of a Tel Aviv lake on Thursday for a test screening at Israel's first...

John Bunyan is known throughout the world as the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, one of the greatest classics in the English language....

We know precious little about Julian – even her name is unclear. She gives away almost no personal information in her Revelations of...

Mary Jones was born in December 1784 at Llanfihangel-y-Pennant, a small hamlet in one of the deep valleys of North Wales. It was a...

I'm not perfect. I have all kinds of problems. I have no ability. I have no gifts. I'm just not worthy. Why would God want me? Well, did...

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year olds, “What does love mean?” The answers they got were...

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), known as “The Lady With the Lamp,” was a British nurse, social reformer and statistician best known as...

Ever since the world went on COVID-19 lock down and stay-at-home orders were issued, the terms “essential” and “non-essential” have...

Nothing is ever truly broken - that's the philosophy behind the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi, which repairs smashed pottery by using...

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered...

There’s a part of me that just wants to scream, “Enough is enough! Make it stop. How much more can we take?” I am talking about the...