Series 190-15 - Festival of Light

Lance Shilton was born in Elsternwick, Victoria in 1921 and was ordained priest in 1950. He was the incumbent at St Jude's Carlton from 1951-1954, then travelled to London to complete a Bachelor of Divinity at the University of London. From 1957 to 1973 he was Rector of Holy Trinity Church in Adelaide. He was then appointed Dean of Sydney, a post which he held until 1988. He was actively interested in social issues, and wrote numerous newspaper columns and radio broadcasts. He helped to establish the Festival of Light organisation in 1972, now known as Family Voice Australia. In 1985 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.

Festival of Light began in the UK under the influence of Malcolm Muggeridge, Mary Whitehouse and Sir Cyril Black. Committees were first formed in Australia in 1972, thanks to the involvement of Rev Lance Shilton, and it was formally launched in Adelaide in 1973. The same year, Rev Fred Nile became leader of the NSW branch. It became a national organisation with a National Council and Executive, state branches, regional committees and local church action groups. Its aims include promoting Christian family and community values and lobbying national and community leaders on issues relating to public morality. It sponsored Australian tours of Muggeridge and Whitehouse. It has submitted many parliamentary petitions on topics including pornography, abortion, prostitution, drugs & alcohol. In 2008 it changed its name to Family Voice Australia. https://familyvoice.org.au/