As a child growing up in Jamaica, reading was Dahlia Fraser’s favourite pastime. Early mornings and after school she could often be found tucked away somewhere with a book. With her mom a teacher and her dad a pastor, books were readily available and she devoured all the usual children literature. In her home, Sunday afternoons were devoted to quiet pursuits and became a prime time for reading Christian classics such as Pilgrim’s Progress. Christian literature has played a huge role in her spiritual formation and it is not surprising that after completing an arts degree she became literature staffworker with InterVarsity/Scripture Union in Jamaica. Other publishing jobs followed in her church denomination and eventually with government and private publishing companies.
In 2003, wanting to strengthen her Christian witness and also to escape from publishing deadlines for a while, she set off to Toronto to pursue her other interest, theological studies. She had a vague idea of combining both her interests by possibly setting up a Christian publishing outfit in Jamaica someday. Dahlia spent an enjoyable ten years of study and work in Toronto. Then, with the needs of her aging parents on her mind, she decided to return to Jamaica.
Dahlia’s prayer as she returned home in 2014 was that God would provide a work-from-home opportunity so that she could be more available for her parents. She had no idea how quickly or how interestingly God would answer that prayer. A few months later, through her IVCF connections she was invited to attend a Langham Caribbean consultation and Seminar where she met Dr Jennifer Cuthbertson, Langham Preaching’s Coordinator for Trainer Development. God used a coffee break conversation with Jennifer to answer her prayer.
God has combined Dahlia’s interests in theology and publishing in a more expansive way than she had envisioned. Now she works alongside Isobel Stevenson editing the interesting and varied manuscripts that come to Langham Publishing from different parts of the world. Reading manuscripts from African theologians and getting to meet some of them has been a highlight of her Langham experience so far.
The vision of Langham Partnership is dear to her heart and she is thrilled to once again be part of an international, inter-denominational movement that is building up the church of God worldwide.
Dahlia is still tucked away reading these days, but now she has to remind herself to edit as she goes along!
You can buy a copy of The Maturing Church by Ermias G. Mamo, one of the publications Dahlia worked on recently.