Our Vicar
Our Revd Steve Murphy, a trained actor with a host of acting credits to his name, has battled doubt in his own motivations and faith along his path.
Steve’s Journey Back to God After Loss and Doubt
After losing his mum and walking away from faith for 20 years, Steve reflects on grief, distance from God, and finding his way back.
His mum was ill for a long time before she died when Steve was in his early 20s. He’d helped to care for her through her illness and says that he became very angry with God.
“She had MS; it’s such a thief of an illness. I had difficulty coping and when I was in my early 20s, I gradually drifted away from Christian things.”
Despite attending church as a child and a teenager, Steve says he spent 20 years away from God: “I turned my back on God and withdrew from any form of connection with church,” Steve says. “The thing that sticks out from that time is that when you do move away from God, you need to be clear about who’s moved: it’s not God.”
How Steve’s Past Shapes His Faith
It took a lot of time for Steve to be convinced of where God was calling him. For many years he “dodged” the call dismissing it as something “holy people do.”
He says: “I thought that was what people who are wiser, cleverer, more spiritual and faithful do. I’ve had to learn that doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; questioning and doubt are part of our faith journey.
“I’ve also come to terms with the fact that God calls us for who we are not who we think we should be”.
Steve hopes to use his own life experiences in his ministry to better understand other people’s experience of God.
Steve has completed his curacy in the parish of Prestbury as a Self-Supporting Minister and continues to work in communications for Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Name: Steve Murphy
Role: Vicar
Ordained: Chester Cathedral
Other work: Actor, Communications within the NHS
Ministry focus: Supporting people through doubt, grief, and life’s challenges with honesty and compassion