Hood Theological News Service 

In 2019, Dyke and Deborah Messinger of Salisbury were considering making a substantial gift to Hood Theological Seminary. Dyke had served on the seminary’s board of trustees and believed in its mission of making theological education affordable and accessible to people called to serve both church and world. The Messingers were also familiar with reports Dyke and his fellow board members regularly received from the Association of Theological Schools about numerous seminary closures around the country. Many years of declining church attendance in the United States were finally catching up with the nation’s seminaries in the form of declining student enrollments. Each month brought more reports of seminary closings. 

Prospective donors and students alike were increasingly asking if seminaries had a future, and if accredited, seminary-based Christian theological education was on its last legs.

But the Messingers were not ready to give up on theological education; they knew tough times often called for creativity and innovation rather than passive surrender. So, Dyke and Deborah worked with Hood’s president, Dr. Vergel Lattimore, to channel their financial support of the seminary in a way that would advance not only Hood Seminary but also the cause of theological education itself through what is today known as the Messinger-Williams Community Education Initiative at Hood Theological Seminary.

Thanks to the Messingers, the initiative that bears both their name and the name of Deborah’s late father, Dr. Trevor Williams, who was himself a devoted supporter of Hood Theological Seminary, has offered two free courses to the wider community each year since 2020. Facilitated by Hood’s academic dean, Dr. Trevor Eppehimer, Messinger-Williams courses avoid the large, open-enrollment educational model many higher-ed institutions follow for community courses and adhere instead to the 18th century Methodist small-group model, in which groups of around 10 persons convene for interactive dialogue and discussion. 

“Deborah and I participated in several courses taught by Dr. Eppehimer,” said Dyke, “and felt that quality education like this should be available to the Salisbury-Rowan community.”

Course topics deal with ethics, community, faith and meaning-in-life. The initiative’s fall 2024 offering, for instance, featured a study of social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.”

Messinger-Williams small groups have met locally at South Main Book Company, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church and Trinity Oaks Retirement Community. Its online discussion groups have attracted persons not only from North Carolina and the Southeast region, but from states like Ohio, Missouri, Oregon, Arizona, New Jersey and New York as well.

This spring, the Messinger-Williams Community Education Initiative is turning its attention to New York Times columnist Ross Douthat’s latest book “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious,” which is currently Amazon.com’s No. 1 seller in its religion and philosophy category. 

In Believe, Douthat engages those curious but also apprehensive about religious belief and commitment. He discusses common reasons given for religious apprehension, including the assumption that one cannot believe in both modern science and religion and that it is impossible to reconcile belief in God’s existence with the reality of evil in the world. Other objections he discusses include the moral disgust many justifiably feel toward instances of corruption and misconduct in religious institutions and the impression that “serious people” cannot take religion seriously because it promotes “magical” and “wishful” thinking. In each instance, Douthat attempts to provide reasoned responses designed to lead both religious and non-religious readers to further critical reflection.

Those interested in participating in future offerings or in learning more about the Messinger-Williams Community Education Initiative at Hood Theological Seminary can visit the seminary’s website for more information.