Hunger for Wholeness

• How God Holds Power Without Coercion with Sheri Kling

  In this episode of Hunger for Wholeness, Robert Nicastro welcomes back theologian, minister, and director of Process and Faith, Dr. Sheri Kling, for a rich conversation on the power of theology to renew spiritual life in a fragmented world.Sheri shares the story behind Renewing Faith, a newly released collection of essays emerging from a 2025 conference that brought together voices exploring how process and open and relational theology can breathe new life into Christian practice. Together, she and Robert unpack how these movements offer a vision of God not as a distant, all-controlling force, but as a deeply relational presence—persuasive, not coercive, and intimately involved in the unfolding of creation.Throughout the episode, Sheri explains key theological ideas in everyday terms, weaving in science, mysticism, and lived experience. She reflects on her own journey from Jungian psychology to process thought, and how this path gave her a more integrated, healing view of God, suffering, and spiritual wholeness.Later, Sheri offers a profound reimagining of divine power—sharing a story from Proverbs of Ashes that illustrates how a theology of persuasive love can make space for grief, agency, and hope.ABOUT SHERI KLING“We are a fragmented people in a fragmented world—but when we begin to think with a more integrative, relational vision of reality, faith can come alive again. We discover that we matter, we belong, and we can participate in the sacred work of a whole-making cosmos.”Sheri D. Kling, Ph.D., is a writer, theologian, songwriter, and spiritual teacher who serves as director of Process & Faith with the Center for Process Studies, interim minister of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bradenton, Florida, and teaches regularly for the Haden Institute and Claremont School of Theology, from which she earned her doctorate. She is the author of A Process Spirituality: Christian and Transreligious Resources for Transformation and editor of Renewing Faith: Reigniting Faith and Ministry through Process and Open & Relational Theologies. She speaks, teaches, and leads retreats on spirituality, theology, and transformation, and her work can be found online at sherikling.com and her Substack, The Sacred Everywhere.Ilia Delio’s upcoming webinar, The Christian Mutation: Why God Cannot Be Static, asks whether Christianity has traded the revolutionary God of Jesus for a safe abstraction. She explores instead a God who becomes with us: relational, vulnerable, and love in movement. Join us Thursday, December 4, 5:00–6:30 p.m. ET. Learn more and register at christogenesis.org/webinar.Support the showA huge thank you to all of you who subscribe and support our show! Support for A Hunger for Wholeness comes from the Fetzer Institute. Fetzer supports a movement of organizations who are applying spiritual solutions to society's toughest problems. Get involved at fetzer.org. Visit the Center for Christogenesis' website at christogenesis.org/podcast to browse all Hunger for Wholeness episodes and read more from Ilia Delio. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for episode releases and other updates.

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• Practices That Weave Us Back Together with Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining

  Ilia Delio welcomes back Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining to probe a live question for faith communities today: when our concepts of God become narrow—or distorted—how do they derail spiritual growth and even undermine justice? Hillary names the fears that keep churches clinging to old power structures, and offers a pastoral imagination big enough for an evolving, more-than-abstract God. From “theology police” moments in grief care to the responsibility we bear as Christ’s body, she invites a shift from transactional religion to a life transfigured by love.The conversation moves into language itself. Do words like Christ and God still help? Hillary shares why she often leads with “Spirit” in wider settings, why the church still needs a reclaimed Christ-language, and how wisdom and creation-energy weave through our lives. Drawing on her Indigenous heritage, she describes practices of reciprocity with the land and how those experiences shape a joyful, resilient path forward for St. Columba’s: centers of prayer and discernment where head and heart meet, contemplation births action, and hope endures.ABOUT REV. DR. HILLARY RAINING“The emotional and physical lives of our ancestors… fundamentally affect our emotional and physical lives as well… The practice of gratitude… changes—not only those who practice it—but also the generations that follow.”The Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining is an Episcopal Priest serving as Rector at St. Columba’s in Washington, D.C. She is also the founder of The Hive (www.thehiveapiary.com), an online spirituality and wellness community. Actively involved in the Episcopal Church, she served on multiple committees and as a professor and consultant for various Seminaries. She is also a published writer and a sought-after public speaker. With several degrees and certifications in theology, liturgy, psychology, trauma integration, yoga, and forest therapy, she seeks to empower others through healing and spiritual direction while leading innovative ministry projects.Ilia Delio’s upcoming webinar, The Christian Mutation: Why God Cannot Be Static, asks whether Christianity has traded the revolutionary God of Jesus for a safe abstraction. She explores instead a God who becomes with us: relational, vulnerable, and love in movement. Join us Thursday, December 4, 5:00–6:30 p.m. ET. Learn more and register at christogenesis.org/webinar.Support the showA huge thank you to all of you who subscribe and support our show! Support for A Hunger for Wholeness comes from the Fetzer Institute. Fetzer supports a movement of organizations who are applying spiritual solutions to society's toughest problems. Get involved at fetzer.org. Visit the Center for Christogenesis' website at christogenesis.org/podcast to browse all Hunger for Wholeness episodes and read more from Ilia Delio. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for episode releases and other updates.

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• When Politics Show Up in Pastoral Care with Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining

  In this episode of Hunger for Wholeness, Ilia Delio talks with Episcopal priest and spiritual director Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining about what happens when public life shows up in the parish—how pastors can hold political tension without letting church life collapse into partisanship, and why hope and joy remain non-negotiable in a polarized age. Together they explore a renewed mystical imagination for Christianity: experience that leads to transformation, and transformation that bears fruit in justice.Hillary reflects on leading a large Washington, D.C. congregation where worship must flow into weekday service while also tending the inner life. Along the way, the conversation names the fatigue and anxiety many younger adults carry (economy, climate, AI) and re-centers practices that steady courage: prayer, community, and a lively sense of God’s presence. Later, Ilia and Hillary speak candidly about serving as women in systems marked by patriarchy, and what an integrated, humane faith might look like now.ABOUT REV. DR. HILLARY RAINING“The emotional and physical lives of our ancestors… fundamentally affect our emotional and physical lives as well… The practice of gratitude… changes—not only those who practice it—but also the generations that follow.”The Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining is an Episcopal Priest serving as Rector at St. Columba’s in Washington, D.C. She is also the founder of The Hive (www.thehiveapiary.com), an online spirituality and wellness community. Actively involved in the Episcopal Church, she served on multiple committees and as a professor and consultant for various Seminaries. She is also a published writer and a sought-after public speaker. With several degrees and certifications in theology, liturgy, psychology, trauma integration, yoga, and forest therapy, she seeks to empower others through healing and spiritual direction while leading innovative ministry projects.Ilia Delio’s upcoming webinar, The Christian Mutation: Why God Cannot Be Static, asks whether Christianity has traded the revolutionary God of Jesus for a safe abstraction. She explores instead a God who becomes with us: relational, vulnerable, and love in movement. Join us Thursday, December 4, 5:00–6:30 p.m. ET. Learn more and register at christogenesis.org/webinar.Support the showA huge thank you to all of you who subscribe and support our show! Support for A Hunger for Wholeness comes from the Fetzer Institute. Fetzer supports a movement of organizations who are applying spiritual solutions to society's toughest problems. Get involved at fetzer.org. Visit the Center for Christogenesis' website at christogenesis.org/podcast to browse all Hunger for Wholeness episodes and read more from Ilia Delio. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for episode releases and other updates.

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• Are We Developing Consciousness? or Worshipping Technology? with Don Viney (Part 2)

  In this episode of Hunger for Wholeness, Robert Nicastro continues his conversation with philosopher Don Viney. Together, they explore Teilhard de Chardin’s vision of a planetary mind—asking whether today’s global networks are cultivating consciousness and love, or tempting us to worship technology for its own sake.What happens when tools eclipse persons? When CGI and AI overwhelm story and relationship? Viney contrasts spectacle with narrative and argues that technology should serve the growth of consciousness—embodiment, compassion, and responsibility—rather than replace it. He also pushes back on disembodied transhumanist dreams, advocating for a deeply human path forward.Later in the episode, Robert and Don turn to “building the earth,” love as the axis of evolution, and a daring theology of the “not-yet”—where God’s actuality grows in relationship with the world. Along the way, they consider citizenship of the universe and Teilhard’s incandescent hope that humanity might one day “master the energies of love.”ABOUT DON VINEY“True love unites in such a way as to augment rather than to diminish the personalities of those caught in its Fire.”Donald Wayne Viney, Ph.D. received degrees in philosophy from Colorado State University (1977) and the University of Oklahoma (1979, 1982). He is a three-time recipient of the title “University Professor” at Pittsburg State University (Kansas) where he taught from 1984 until his retirement in 2022. He is the author of Charles Hartshorne and the Existence of God (1985), senior editor of Hartshorne’s Creative Experiencing: A Philosophy of Freedom (2011), and co-author, with George W. Shields, of The Mind of Charles Hartshorne: A Critical Examination (2020). He has written extensively on the nineteenth century Breton philosopher, Jules Lequyer, and published two books of translations of Lequyer’s writings. In addition, he is the author of dozens of scholarly articles and reviews on a variety of topics, including six articles on Teilhard de Chardin and an annotated translation of Marcel Brion’s 1951 interview with Teilhard. He serves on the editorial boards of Process Studies and the American Journal of Theology and Philosophy. Viney is also a singer-songwriter.Ilia Delio’s upcoming webinar, The Christian Mutation: Why God Cannot Be Static, asks whether Christianity has traded the revolutionary God of Jesus for a safe abstraction. She explores instead a God who becomes with us: relational, vulnerable, and love in movement. Join us Thursday, December 4, 5:00–6:30 p.m. ET. Learn more and register at christogenesis.org/webinar.Support the showA huge thank you to all of you who subscribe and support our show! Support for A Hunger for Wholeness comes from the Fetzer Institute. Fetzer supports a movement of organizations who are applying spiritual solutions to society's toughest problems. Get involved at fetzer.org. Visit the Center for Christogenesis' website at christogenesis.org/podcast to browse all Hunger for Wholeness episodes and read more from Ilia Delio. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for episode releases and other updates.

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• How Non-Toxic Concepts of God Can Still Satisfy with Don Viney (Part 1)

  In this episode of Hunger for Wholeness, Robert Nicastro sits down with philosopher and musician Don Viney to trace his journey from the arts to philosophy—and the unexpected conversion that led him to process thought. Together, they explore the creative tension between art and thought, and how beauty, music, and literature often touch places philosophical language cannot reach.Don shares formative moments from studying with Charles Hartshorne and his early fascination with Teilhard de Chardin—unpacking how Teilhard’s evolutionary mysticism resonates with those seeking meaning in a fragmented world. Along the way, the conversation wrestles with non-toxic, life-giving concepts of God and what makes a metaphysical vision truly satisfying in a scientific age.Later in the episode, Viney reflects on Teilhard’s radical hope, personhood at the heart of the cosmos, and the power of process thinking to awaken a fresh sense of spiritual responsibility.ABOUT DON VINEY“True love unites in such a way as to augment rather than to diminish the personalities of those caught in its Fire.”Donald Wayne Viney, Ph.D. received degrees in philosophy from Colorado State University (1977) and the University of Oklahoma (1979, 1982). He is a three-time recipient of the title “University Professor” at Pittsburg State University (Kansas) where he taught from 1984 until his retirement in 2022. He is the author of Charles Hartshorne and the Existence of God (1985), senior editor of Hartshorne’s Creative Experiencing: A Philosophy of Freedom (2011), and co-author, with George W. Shields, of The Mind of Charles Hartshorne: A Critical Examination (2020). He has written extensively on the nineteenth century Breton philosopher, Jules Lequyer, and published two books of translations of Lequyer’s writings. In addition, he is the author of dozens of scholarly articles and reviews on a variety of topics, including six articles on Teilhard de Chardin and an annotated translation of Marcel Brion’s 1951 interview with Teilhard. He serves on the editorial boards of Process Studies and the American Journal of Theology and Philosophy. Viney is also a singer-songwriter.Ilia Delio’s upcoming webinar, The Christian Mutation: Why God Cannot Be Static, asks whether Christianity has traded the revolutionary God of Jesus for a safe abstraction. She explores instead a God who becomes with us: relational, vulnerable, and love in movement. Join us Thursday, December 4, 5:00–6:30 p.m. ET. Learn more and register at christogenesis.org/webinar.Support the showA huge thank you to all of you who subscribe and support our show! Support for A Hunger for Wholeness comes from the Fetzer Institute. Fetzer supports a movement of organizations who are applying spiritual solutions to society's toughest problems. Get involved at fetzer.org. Visit the Center for Christogenesis' website at christogenesis.org/podcast to browse all Hunger for Wholeness episodes and read more from Ilia Delio. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for episode releases and other updates.

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