Wakened by the planetary crisis, a minister loses her faith in the church's relevance. Opening a woodland retreat, hosting spiritual, ecology, and cosmological teachers, she discovers a new sacred story of oneness and experiences an invigorating evolution of consciousness. In the first section, Out of the Pulpit and Into the Woods, she tells a story many can relate to.

When invited to step back into the Christian culture, the adventure continues. In the second section, Out of the Woods and Back IN the Church, the author steps into a declining, rural congregation of sophisticated elders who are open to possibility. They're willing to read the old stories with evolutionary eyes. They consider the environmental crisis is driving the evolution of humanity, religion, and God. The Christian and Evolutionary stories are stronger when they dance together. And together, they can make the Earth-family more resilient.

In the third section, there are "rituals, practices, and holidays that can be used in, out, and on the fringe of the church by those hungering for a worldview that inspires us to compassionate action in crazy and confusing times."