Vicar
The Reverend Shirley Littras

Shirley was born in Geelong, the youngest of her parent’s three children, she has two older brothers. It was Shirley’s oldest brother who actually named her, because her parents could not agree on a name. Both of Shirley’s parents were Christians, and she grew up attending St Stephen’s Anglican Church in Belmont, her most prominent childhood memories are of a Sunday, going to church and coming home to a roast dinner, which was always set up in the dining room. 

Shirley went to school at Roslyn Primary School followed by Belmont High School, when she left school in 1977 she went to work for Target Head Office on Thompsons Road. In 1979 she met her husband George through mutual friends and they were married at St Stephen’s in 1981, they have two adult children, a son Kim who lives in Geelong and a daughter Alyce, who lives in St Kilda Melbourne.
In 1991, Shirley’s mother invited her to Bible Study Fellowship, which she attended for another five years. As she continued to read and study the Bible and to grow in faith, her commitment to use her gifts to minister in the church also increased. Shirley became a Vestry member, a Synod Representative serving two three year terms, became involved with Youth Worship services, taught Religious Education in schools and also became an acolyte. 

Those years of Bible study gave Shirley a taste for studying the Bible that lead to her studying at Ridley College in Melbourne where she obtained her Degree in a Bachelor of Ministry and an Advanced Diploma in Ministry in 2002 and 2006.

In 2002, after obtaining her Degree in Ministry, she began work as an Honorary Authorised Lay Minister at St Stephen’s Belmont and also as a School Chaplain at Colac High School and began the process of seeking ordination and was accepted and was ordained in 2005.

Shirley’s four years of training as an Assistant Curate was at St Stephen’s in Belmont for two years and the last not quite two years at Moonee Ponds with Ascot Vale in Melbourne. 

In December of 2008, George and Shirley returned to Geelong from Melbourne where she had taken up the position as the Assistant Minister at the Bellarine Gateway Anglican Parish. 

In June 2011, our parish was very blessed to welcome Shirley as our Priest in Charge under the direction of the Regional Bishop and in November 2014 Shirley was appointed the Incumbent of the Parish.