Rob Berger sits in a pew of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Alphonso Basilone's single pall-covered casket before the altar clothes him thinly with a disturbing, fearful sense of smallness and loneliness. As the casket moved up the aisle, he had remembered a promise that Alphonso and he had made to each other. The one who survived was to tell the story--the story of the sometimes tormented, often troubled, but finally faithful journey of two p...

The discussion guide for the novel, Wonder Clearing, comes at a critical moment for churches and nations. Both churches and nations are suffering through not only a terrible pandemic threatening physical health but also a pandemic of division that threatens the heart of our churches and the soul of civic society. Small groups using the discussion guide will focus on issues pertinent to contemporary America including racism, sexual orientation, and sexual exploitation of women and children....