Rev. Ross Olivier, "Reverend Ross" to his Galloway Methodist Church parishioners, will return to his native South Africa in January after serving the Jackson church since July 2004. In recent years, Olivier (pronounced Ollie-FEE) has become a Jackson staple at social justice and racial reconciliation events, drawing from his work and experience during the apartheid era in South Africa, where he was a vigorous opponent of the brutal oppression he found there. Archbishop Desmond Tutu asked Olivier to establish a council of churches during that time, and in 1994, the year of South Africa's first democratic elections, he facilitated the Methodist Church's re-visioning for the new, emerging democracy, chronicled in the book "Journey Begun," which he co-authored.

He often compared the ongoing civil rights struggle in the U.S. to the experiences of his native land, and he has been an outspoken advocate for the area's poor and under-privileged.

Citing a combination of familial duties and visa difficulties as the reasons for his return, Ross recently told the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate magazine: "I am the eldest son. My duty is to see that Mom is well cared for. I need to go do my duty. We tried everything we could to try and stay, but circumstances turned against us. When all the doors were shut, we had no choice."

The Immigration and Naturalization Service is reviewing holders of religious visas, and apparently did not approve everyone in the Ross family to stay in the U.S.

"Mississippi has been our hobby," Olivier said. "We have visited 80 of 82 counties and will visit the other two before we leave. We have researched them, dug into the history and traveled the back roads only. We've gone and imbibed the culture. We love the story that is located in the people of Mississippi; both the struggles and successes."

In a December 2004 interview with the Jackson Free Press, Olivier said he was committed to engaging Galloway in social issues, comforting the afflicted, while simultaneously afflicting the comfortable. He returns to serve a congregation in Pretoria.

Husband and wife Revs. Joey and Connie Shelton will fill Olivier's shoes. Both originally from Mississippi—he from Hattiesburg, and she from Picayune—the Sheltons most recently served as co-directors of field education/church relations at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C. Joey Shelton practiced law for nine years in Hattiesburg, and both Sheltons received their master's of divinity from Duke and doctorates from Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia.

Rev. Olivier was unavailable for comment before this issue went to press.

Previous Comments

ID

68236

Comment

I am sad to see Rev. Olivier go. I mostly have only seen him on TV, but his sermons always had an impact. He has done a lot for Jackson. But I understand why he needs to go home, too. Hopefully he and his family can come back some day!

Author

andi

Date

2008-01-03T14:49:42-06:00

ID

68237

Comment

I wish Rev. Olivier the best in South Africa, and I think all Mississippians should be sad to see him go. He and his wife are genuinely fascinating people who strove to remind all Christians that Jesus calls on us to fight for justice. Best of luck.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2008-01-04T16:36:20-06:00

ID

68238

Comment

*sigh* I've seen him preach so often on TV. His presence will be sorely missed. He seems to be one of the few that remembers what it really means to be a Christian. Maybe some in his flock learned something from him.

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2008-01-04T17:04:53-06:00