When God Got Real

About When God Got Real

Here humans craft and share their personal, compelling, beautiful, sometimes difficult 17 minute story of when God got real in their life and how that experience changed them. Following their story, they consider with host Sarah Hollar how their experience continues to affect them in their relationships, their sense of self and their way in the world.

Publisher

Sarah Hollar

Category

religion & spirituality · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Jul 2025

Latest episode

13 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

13 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   13 Jul 2026

   Finding Belovedness: Jen Holt Enriquez

   In this episode, Jen — an attorney- turned-director of children's ministry and co-founder of Sowing Seed in the Sand — shares how years of teaching children about racism through the lens of faith led to an unexpected discovery: the truth she was preaching to others was true for her too. She is, and always was, an equally beloved child of God. Jen and Sarah talk about human hierarchies, the stories we tell children versus the ones the world tells them, and how a familiar Bible story — not the Good Samaritan, but Zacchaeus — became the one that finally showed her who God really is.A story about the lies we inherit, the love we're offered anyway, and what happens when it finally feels real. Jen Holt Enriquez is an attorney by formal education and was surprised to find herself called to the work of making disciples as a 2nd career, about 10 years ago.  Jen currently serves as director of children’s ministry at a church in Western Springs, IL and is co-founder of a movement called Sowing Seeds in the Sand. In this story she tells you how her journey in antiracism through the lens of faith transformed her and her relationship with God.  To learn more about Jen’s antiracism work, please email her at mailto:jen@sowingseedsinthesand.org, or visit the website at www.sowingseedsinthesand.org (https://www.sowingseedsinthesand.org/) www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

2. 

   15 Jun 2026

   Kindness During A Season Of Loss: Mona West

   Poet Naomi Shihab Nye writes that before you can know kindness, you must first lose things. Mona knows this firsthand. A sudden job loss, a year of searching, and the death of her father hollowed her out — and opened her to a kindness that redirected the final chapter of her ministry career. In this episode, she and host Sarah reflect on suffering, surrender, Scripture as a living voice, and why small acts of kindness might be the most concrete way human beings bear the image of God. Mona West is a published biblical scholar with a passion for spiritual formation. She has spent her 30-year career working in educational and religious settings creating spaces for marginalized people who have experienced scriptural abuse to develop reading strategies that allow them to trust scripture with their spiritual formation. She is currently a Senior Instructor at The Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX.

3. 

   23 Feb 2026

   Captured by the River: Andrew Ancona

   Andrew Ancona is a Connecticut native raised in the Episcopal Church. He attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he discerned his call to the priesthood through campus ministry, and received a B.A. in Architecture in 2016. Father Andrew completed his studies for ministry at Berkeley Divinity School, Yale University and Cambridge University, UK. His areas of interest include Liturgical Studies, Gregorian Chant and Sacred Music, the work of Christian formation and hospitality, as well as Architecture, Sacred Space, and the Divine in the built environment. In his free time, Fr Andrew enjoys walking and eating his way around New York City with his Siberian husky Nord, drawing and painting, winemaking, cooking, and vacationing with family. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC, where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

4. 

   9 Feb 2026

   The Sugar Plum Fairy: Sarah Hollar

   Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director lives in Charlotte, NC where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, a Futurist by trade, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. Her current favorites include the movie Hamnet, the Avett Brothers, and a countertop ice cream maker she got as a Christmas gift. Her current favorite joke is: What do you call a book club that only reads one book? ……Church! www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

5. 

   27 Jan 2026

   Understanding the Thin Places: Aimée Bostwick

   Aimée Bostwick is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and guide. She holds a Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation from Seminary of the Southwest and is ordained through the Order of Hildegard, grounding her work in an interspiritual, earth-honoring theology. With nearly thirty years of experience in spiritual formation, her work weaves together contemplative practice, embodied spirituality, and a deep relationship with the natural world. Specializing in forest bathing, slow contemplative walking, poetry, silence, and embodied practices, Aimée invites individuals and communities into experiences of being deeply seen—by themselves, by one another, and by the sacred. Aimée currently serves as Senior Advisor for Program Innovation at Kanuga Conference, Retreat & Camp Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, a place that has shaped her spiritually since childhood and continues to inform her understanding of “thin places”—where the veil between the human and the holy feels especially close. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC, where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

6. 

   12 Jan 2026

   Understanding God's Active Presence: Deborah Warner

   Deborah Warner, this week’s guest facilitator, grew up in New York City. She studied at Union Theological Seminary receiving a Master of Divinity degree with Psychiatry and Religion as her area of concentration. After completing a chaplaincy residency at in the neonatal unit at New York Hospital and working on a medical floor at Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, she became one of the first generation of women ordained as priest in the Episcopal Church. Most of her 40-year tenure was lived out in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts primarily as the rector of two separate parishes. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC, where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

7. 

   17 Nov 2025

   Is It MOM or the Tie-Dyed T-Shirt? Tamara Franks

   Tamara Franks is a wanderer, sojourner and courageous soul who loves to experience each day fully. She isn’t prone to chit chat; instead, on a moment’s notice, will invite anyone into deep, thoughtful conversation. Wilderness Guide, College Lecturer, and Pastor, she loves to explore diverse lands, listen to the trees, the wind and people’s hearts, cook both simple and elegant meals, and laugh with her whole being. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC, where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

8. 

   3 Nov 2025

   God in Three Dimensions: Mandy Monath

   Mandy Monath, a North Carolina native, is the author of This Is Like That: Poems and Process, a collection of poems accompanied by observations on creativity and poetic craft. She is interested in what makes a poem a poem. In other genres, her recent children’s book, How Counting Came to Be, tells the story of a cave girl who thinks too much. Her essays have appeared in Christian Science Monitor and The Wall Street Journal. Mandy earned her B.A. from Salem College in Classics and her M.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill in Comparative Literature. She lampooned that experience in her romantic comedy, Manifestations of Idiosyncrasy in the Actualization of the Potential Work. Keith Walker, the author of All That Names Us (Saddle Road Press, 2024), offers this review of Mandy’s work, This Is Like That: Poems and Process.  “So much of what I read these days feels like sophisticated word play without soul.  In these poems I feel the poet’s sensitivity, her open heart receiving the world and her discerning mind carefully turning it over and over to understand the underlying dimensions of what she sees and feels. It’s very powerful and very spiritual.  I really admire these beautiful, resonant poems and will keep reading them and letting them speak to me.” Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC, where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

9. 

   20 Oct 2025

   Finding An Ever-Present God: Valerie Davis

   The Rev. Deacon Valerie Davis shares her story of finding in an ever-present God, in the grief of losing her mother too soon. Valerie, a cradle Episcopalian, ordained a Deacon, serves in the Diocese of North Carolina. She is a member of the Diocesan Council for Outreach & Justice, is the Co-chair for the Clergy of Color and a facilitator for the diocese’s introductory course on Dismantling Racism. She is currently assigned to St. Martin’s in Charlotte, NC where she is beginning a ministry for homeless and displaced persons. Valerie considers herself to be a lifelong learner, who enjoys reading, water activities, traveling abroad, and the many adventures of meeting and sharing the good news of the Gospel domestically and internationally. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC, where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

10. 

    6 Oct 2025

    God of the Negative Space: Sue Bartlett

    Sometimes God is found not in crises, but in crises that are averted. Sue Bartlett currently lives in Davidson, North Carolina. She has had many wonderful opportunities in her life - to live in different parts of the country, to travel, to find meaningful work as a nurse, a chef, an artist, and a poet. She has been a granddaughter, daughter, wife, and mother, but her greatest joy is being a grandmother. God has been very, very good to her in all the spaces of her life. And she is grateful! Current project: Sue is working on a collection of poetry exploring the wonders of prayer. It is entitled “When Thought Becomes Prayer”. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC, where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

11. 

    22 Sept 2025

    When God Stopped Being A Concept: Matt Addington

    What happens when you know the culture, follow the rules, make a life plan, assume the good outcome and it all stops… working? Matt Addington is an Episcopal Priest, serving a parish, and is a husband and dad of 2 daughters. Matt feels deeply called to finding the nooks and crannies of life where God is already working in the world through others, and helping the same people understand how they can make a difference in the world by simply being themselves. Matt often ends his day with more questions than when he started, and is excitedly exploring what aspect of personal ministry God has for him in the future. There are so many possibilities because there are so many opportunities. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

12. 

    8 Sept 2025

    Religious But Not Spiritual: Beth Hunt

    What happens when you’re “Religious but not Spiritual” and someone you are supposed to protect is in danger, and your commitment and care can’t guarantee a safe outcome? Beth Hunt, who spent 33 years as a business journalist, left that career behind to pursue something a little closer to God. She earned a master’s degree in peace and conflict resolution, and now spends her time helping individuals, families, organizations, and churches communicate more gently, navigate conflict with grace, and rebuild trust in a world often marked by anger and division. She’s wife to Brian, a mathematician and professor, and mom to Shannon, a college student. They were all rescued by Bella, a boxer-pit bull mix. Sarah Hollar, an Episcopal Priest and Spiritual Director, lives in Charlotte, NC where she serves a parish, tends relationships with her husband, two children, two stepchildren, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and her wise aging mother. She also has a good number of friends. Deeply curious about the complexity of the human experience and how God is present in that complexity, she invites you to join her as all sorts of folk share their memorable encounters with God. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

13. 

    19 Jul 2025

    When God Got Real- Trailer

    We all have moments when faith moves from idea to experience—when God becomes real in a way that changes everything. On the When God Got Real podcast, real people share their personal stories of encountering the divine, followed by a conversation with host Sarah Hollar exploring how that encounter continues to shape their lives, relationships, and place in the world. www.whengodgotreal.com (https://www.whengodgotreal.com/)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

11 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.