Episode Details

In this conversation, Victoria Loorz speaks with the Rev. Dr. Lisa Dahill, Director of the Center for Transformative Spirituality at Hartford International University.  Lisa is a eco-theologian and internationally recognized Bonhoeffer scholar, whose work explores what becomes possible when the walls between God and world begin to dissolve. After years teaching worship and liturgy within seminary walls, an encounter with fresh bear tracks in the snow transformed not only Lisa's relationship with the living world, but her understanding of Christianity itself.

Together, they explore Bonhoeffer's provocative claim that God and world are not two realities but one. Lisa, author of the forthcoming Jesus in the Earth: Rewilding Christian Spirituality, offers a radical vision of faith, not as escape from the world, but as a way of inhabiting reality more fully.

Connect with Lisa:

• Email: ldahill@hartfordinternational.edu
• Website: Hartford International University for Religion & Peace
• Yale Article (pdf): Rewilding Christian Spirituality: Outdoor Sacraments and the Life of the World
• Book: Reading From The Underside of Selfhood: Bonhoeffer and Spiritual Formation
• Book: Eco-Reformation: Grace and Hope for a Planet in Peril
• Book: Truly Present: Practicing Prayer in the Liturgy
• Website: Google Scholar Collection

Mentioned in the episode:

• Holy Wild Episode: Awakening a Forest Sense: Grief, Mystery, and the Reformation of Faith with Michael Ellick

Connect with the Center:

• Website: wildspirituality.earth
• Victoria's Website: victorialoorz.com
• Email: hello@wildspirituality.earth
• Linktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspirituality
• Instagram: @center_for_wild_spirituality

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 04:10 – Interview Begins 
• 06:21 – The Land Who Raised Lisa 
• 08:23 – The Bear 
• 09:23 – "Suddenly I Am the Bear" 
• 11:27 – Jesus Dissolving 
• 13:47 – Horizontal Transcendence 
• 16:57 – Bonhoeffer 
• 18:13 – There's Only One Reality 
• 23:42 – It's Time for Christianity to Evolve 
• 29:06 – Creating Wild Sanctuary 
• 32:38 – Courage to Be Honest 
• 35:36 – A Change in Leadership 
• 37:51 – Predation 
• 41:24 – Resurrection 
• 47:07 – Programs at HIU 
• 49:36 – Wild Invitation 
• 51:36 – Credits