Canon Margaret Larom
Margaret became Director of the Office of Anglican and Global Relations of the Episcopal Church in 2005 after having served nine years as World Mission Interpretation & Networks Officer for the Church. Aided by a staff of some 15 members at the Episcopal Church Center in NYC, she exercises oversight and management responsibility for missionary programs and the Young Adult Service Corps; financial and administrative support for 10 overseas dioceses and many provinces in the Communion; for global education and mission networks in our own church; for covenants and companion diocese relationships; for scholarships for overseas leadership training; for the Good Friday Offering and for the United Thank Offering.
Margaret has served the Church for more than 25 years. In 1980 she and her husband, the Rev. Peter Larom, were appointed as missionaries in Uganda at the Provincial Secretariat & Bishop Tucker Theological College. From 1985 to 1991 and again from 1995 through 2004, she handled world mission information, education and networking responsibilities at the Episcopal Church Center. During 1992-1995 she worked for the National Council of Churches as editor of Friendship Press, the ecumenical publisher of mission education materials.
She began her professional life in journalism. She was a reporter, city editor and managing editor for a daily newspaper in Tarrytown, NY from 1968 to 1980. She is a graduate of Smith College with a BA in English Literature.
Mr. Lucian L. Niemeyer
Lucian Niemeyer came to the US with his family in 1937 fleeing the tyranny of the Nazis. Lucian was educated at Indiana University, the University of Notre Dame and graduated from the Famous Photographers School in Westport, Ct. From 1963-1982 he worked for Volkswagen, first rising to the position of National Sales Manager and then purchasing a VW dealership. In early 1987 he went into photography full time and he published his first book of created images, Chesapeake Country with the text by Eugene Meyer. Many, many books (at least 11) followed until Africa, the Holocausts of Rwanda and Sudan was published by the University of New Mexico Press in 2006. He has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2007. In conjunction with this work there are three other Holocaust stories in exhibit form, “Sudan Slavery,” “Sudan Oilfield Genocide,” and “Nuba Mountains-Sudan.” His book Darfur Dateline November 2006 is expected to be published by the end of the year.
Mr. Niemeyer’s books start with a passion, then an idea, followed by a plan, then research and finally a field study, leading to two full years of dedicated on-site work for each book. From beginning to end each book has a gestation of 3 ½ to 6 years.
Mr. Andrew Natsios
Andrew S. Natsios is the President’s Special Envoy for Sudan. He is a Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and Advisor on International Development at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. From 2001 to 2005 he was the Administrator of USAID. He also served as Special Coordinator for International Disaster Assistance and Special Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan.
Natsios first served at USAID as Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance from 1989 to 1991 and then as Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Food and Humanitarian Assistance (now the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance) from 1991 to Jan 1993.
Natsios was chairman and chief executive officer for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority from April 2000 to March 2001 where he took over management of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (the “Big Dig”) after a period of scandal and cost overruns. Prior to that Natsios was secretary for administration and finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from March 1999 to April 2000. From 1993-1998 he was vice president of World Vision/US.
Andrew Natsios served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1975-1987. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of government where he received a master’s degree in public administration. He is the author of numerous articles on foreign policy and humanitarian emergencies as well as the author of two books: US Foreign Policy and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Great North Korean Famine. After serving 22 years in the US Army Reserves, he retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Dr. Brian D’Silva
Brian D’Silva’s involvement in Sudan has covered more than 25 years. He holds a Ph.D in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State and first met Dr. John Garang De Mabior when both were graduate students. His first experience in Sudan was as a Ford Foundation Visiting Professor at the University of Khartoum. A few years later,Brian worked in Sudan from 1987-90 with the USAID Mission in Khartoum, and on issues related to Southern Sudan while based in Nairobi, Kenya. Since 2000, he has continued to work on Sudan from Washington, first as part of USAID’s Sudan Task Force and more recently as the senior Policy Advisor on Sudan to USAID. He actively participated as part of the US government delegation that was involved in the negotiations leading to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and he was there when Dr. Garang was sworn in as First Vice President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan on July 9, 2005.
D’Silva is a staff member of the US Department of Agriculture, on a long term secondment to USAID.
Mr. John Prendergast
John Prendergast is Senior Advisor to the International Crisis Group and Co-Founder of the ENOUGH Campaign (www.enoughproject.org). Previously he worked at the White House and State Department during the Clinton administration, where he was involved in a number of peace processes throughout Africa. Prendergast has also worked for members of Congress, the United Nations, human rights organizations, and think tanks. He has authored eight books on Africa, the latest of which he co-authored with actor/activist Don Cheadle, entitled “Not on Our Watch.” He has an M.A. in International Development from American University. John travels regularly to Africa’s war zones on fact-finding missions, peace-making initiatives, and awareness-raising trips involving network news programs, celebrities, and politicians.
Conference Visitors
The Rev. Enock Tombe, Provincial Secretary of the Episcopal Church of Sudan
Rev. Enock has worked as a project engineer supervisor in Torit and Eastern Equatoria as well as an Engineering Coordinator and Program Planning officer. He is the past General Secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches from 1995-2003 and after three years under an interim appointment, he was elected unanimously to the job of General Secretary of the Province of Sudan, Episcopal Church of Sudan in 2006.
Rev. Enock is a graduate of the University of Khartoum with a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering. His post graduate work was at the Loughborough University of Technology in the United Kingdom where he received a Masters of Science in Civil Engineering Construction. He also attended Wycliffe Hall in Oxford from 1991-1992 where he received a post graduate certificate in Theological Studies.
He speaks English, Arabic and Bari.
Mama Darias Kwaje, Mother’s Union Trainer
Mama Daria Kwaje serves as Provincial Worker for the Mothers Union. She is Kakwa from Yei but her work is based in Khartoum. She has been involved in establishing the Mothers' Union Literacy Programme in 3 dioceses as well as the wider work of the Mothers' Union.
Rt. Rev. Bullen Dolli, Bishop of Lui (in companion relationship with the Diocese of Missouri and St. James’ Church in New York City)
Bishop Bullen Dolli is Bishop of Lui and Chairman of the ECS Development and Relief Commission. He was consecrated bishop in 1999. He is Moru by tribe, from near Lui.
The Rt. Rev. Peter Amidi, Bishop of Lainya and Chairman of the Provincial Finance Commission
Bishop Peter Amidi is Bishop of Lainya and Chairman of the ECS Finance and Property Commission. He was consecrated bishop in 2003 having served as Vicar General of Lainya Diocese from 2001-2003. He previously served in Khartoum as an associate priest of All Saints' Cathedral. He is from near Lainya, from Fajalu tribe.
The Rev. Dr. Oliver Duku
Dr. Duku is Principal of Bishop Allison Theological College in Juba, Sudan. He is also a member of the Episcopal Church of Sudan’s Commission on Theological Education. Dr. Duku is currently the recipient of the Andrew T. P. Merrow Fellowship at Virginia Theological Seminary which provides for four weeks study. He is focusing his study on the subject of peace-making and reconciliation. Dr. Duku wrote in his application, “I hope to gain insight into the problems and challenges of reconciling war-traumatized individuals and communities like ours in Southern Sudan and to acquaint myself with ways in which reconciliation processes have been carried out after civil and military conflicts in places such as Northern Ireland and South Africa.”
The Rev. Pauline Walker, Church Mission Society East Africa Regional Manager: Sudan
Born and raised on the east coast of England. Trained as a teacher and taught mathematics in England for 3 years.
Joined the Church Mission Society (CMS) and arrived in Southern Sudan in 1978 to teach math at Juba Girls’ Senior Secondary School. Worked under the multi-dimensional umbrella organization ACROSS.
After 5 years of teaching Differential Calculus her prayer that she should be in a position to teach something slightly less limited in its usefulness to her students was answered, and miraculously out of her teaching position Christian youth work in schools and churches throughout southern Sudan opened up. She worked on this with a Sudanese colleague for another 5 years, until all foreign Christian workers were thrown out of Southern Sudan by an increasingly Muslim government.
Back in UK a year at All Nations Christian College was followed by four years on the staff of a large mainly student church in Nottingham, from where she went to study for ordination in the Church of England. This was followed by a curacy in Southampton, from where she was able to keep her connections with CMS and connections with Sudan, joining and/or leading a few SOMA trips.
In 2001 CMS called her back to be the manager for their work in Sudan, and in an organization which had long been talking about decentralization she became the first CMS regional manager to actually move out of the London base and into the region. The war in Sudan at that time meant it would not be politic to live either one side or the other of the war front as travel to the other side would consequently not be possible, and she is still based in Kampala, which makes access into Sudan relatively easy.
CMS now has 8 personnel working in both north and south Sudan in different fields, and works very closely with the ECS Church in particular.
The Ven. Michael Paget-Wilkes, Chairman of the Sudan Church Association
Rev. Paget-Wilkes worked with Bishop Trevor Huddleston and Julius Nyrere as an Agricultural Development Office in Tanzania in the 60’s. He was ordained in 1969 and worked in Inner City London for 15 years. He then worked in Coventry Diocese and since 1990 he has been the Arch Deacon of Warwick.
He took a study leave in 1993 in East Africa studying Church Development Projects 25 years later. He has been a consultant for the Tear Fund to sort out aid flow to SUDRA. Rev. Paget-Wilkes is the Chair of the Sudan Church Association and convened the Consortium of English Church Partners working with SUDRA. He represented Arch Bishop George in the transition to a new Arch Bishop. He has worked closely with Arch Bishop Joseph and now with Arch Bishop Rowan Williams and traveled with Arch Bishop Rowan on his trip to Sudan last year.
Rev. Paget-Wilkes was asked by Provincial Secretary Enock Tombe to Chair the Round Table and Core Group process and has been asked to do a further 2 years in that role. He has acted as a kind of partner/advisor to Arch Bishop Morona and to the Province as Enock Tombe seeks to set up a sustainable structure.
The Rev. Ian Woodward, Deputy Chairman of the Salisbury Diocesan Sudan Committee
“I am the Vicar of a group of parishes in rural Dorset in the Diocese of Salisbury and located about nine miles inland from the coast. I have been in my present post five years. Previous appointments have been in a parish near Salisbury and a staff job with the Bishop looking after Church and Society.
I have been involved with Sudan for 10 years and I am currently Vice Chairman of our Diocesan link with the Sudan which has been going for nearly 35 years. I usually visit Sudan two or three times a year. Our Sudan Link has two main purposes; to support education in Sudan - theological and at secondary school level and to provide medical support by establishing clinics for dispensing basic medicines and drugs and the training of clinicians. My task on our Link Committee also includes looking after our parliamentary and political affairs and talking to Church groups and others about our work with Sudan. Before ordination I held senior appointments in the defense and aerospace industry”.
Mr. Christopher Fielden, Assistant Secretary of the Salisbury Diocesan Sudan Committee
“My background is that I have been involved with wine and now mainly write about it, with a number of books published. As a form of geriatric challenge I am currently studying for a master’s degree in theology – so I can talk to my wife. She is an Anglican priest. My dissertation is on ‘The influence of Judaism on the beliefs and practices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
I have been assistant secretary of the Salisbury Diocesan Sudan Link for almost ten years, including six months as acting secretary. During that time I have been to Sudan on four occasions, including a stay of a month working with the provincial office in Khartoum. My wife ad I were at the enthronement of the current archbishop in Juba. I have visited the Diocese of Khartoum, Juba, Port Sudan, El Obeid and Kadugli and I was the Salisbury representative at the recent core group meeting in Juba.”