Senior Editor, Sojourners magazine

Rose Marie Berger is a Catholic peace activist and poet. She has been on Sojourners staff since 1986, and worked for social justice movements for 40 years. Rose has rooted herself with Sojourners magazine and ministry. She has written hundreds of articles for Sojourners and other publications and is a sought after preacher and public speaker. After living in Washington, D.C., for 35 years, she moved to Oak View, Calif., in 2022.

Rose’s work in Christian nonviolence has taken her to conflict zones around the world. She is active in the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative, a project of Pax Christi International, and served as co-editor for Advancing Nonviolence and Just Peace in the Church and the World, the fruit of a multiyear, global, participatory process to deepen Catholic understanding of and commitment to Gospel nonviolence. Her poetry has appeared in the books Watershed Discipleship: Reinhabiting a Bioregional Faith and Practice and Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry: Conversations on Creation, Land Justice, and Life Together. She is author of Bending the Arch: Poems (2019), Drawn By God: A History of the Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries from 1967 to 1991 (with Janet Gottschalk, 2012), and Who Killed Donte Manning? The Story of an American NeighborhoodShe has also been a religion reviewer for Publishers Weekly and a Huffington Post commentator. Her work has appeared in National Catholic Reporter, Publishers Weekly, Religion News Service, Radical Grace-Oneing, The Merton Seasonal, U.S. Catholic, and elsewhere. She serves on the board of The International Thomas Merton Society.

With Sojourners, Rose has worked as an organizer on peace and environmental issues, internship program director, liturgist, community pastor, poetry editor, and, currently, as a senior editor of Sojourners magazine, where she writes a regular column on spirituality and justice. She is responsible for the Living the Word biblical reflections on the Revised Common Lectionary, poetry, Bible studies, and interviews – and oversees the production of study guides and the online Bible study Preaching the Word.

Rose has a veteran history in social justice activism, including: leading the first international, inter-religious peace witness into Kyiv, Ukraine, following the outbreak of war in 2022, organizing inter-religious witness against the Keystone XL pipeline; educating and training groups in nonviolence; leading retreats in spirituality and justice; writing on topics as diverse as the “Spiritual Vision of Van Gogh, O'Keeffe, and Warhol,” the war in the Balkans, interviews with Black activists Vincent Harding and Yvonne Delk, the Love Canal's Lois Gibbs, and Mexican archbishop Ruiz, cultural commentary on the Catholic church and the peace movement, reviews of movies, books, and music.

Rose Berger has taught writing and poetry workshops for children and adults. She’s completed her MFA in poetry through the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast program. Her poetry has been published in Sojourners, The Other Side, Radix and D.C. Poets Against the War.

Rose grew up in the Central Valley of California, located in the rich flood plains of the Sacramento and American rivers. Raised in radical Catholic communities heavily influenced by Franciscans and the Catholic Worker movement, she served for nine years on the pastoral team for Sojourners Community Church; five as its co-pastor. She directed Sojourners internship program from 1990-1999. She is currently a senior editor and poetry editor for Sojourners magazine. She has traveled throughout the United States, and also in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosova, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and El Salvador visiting primarily with faith communities working for peace in situations of conflict.

Rose was born when atmospheric CO2 was at 319.08 ppm and now lives with her wife Heidi Thompson in Oak View, Calif., in the Ventura River watershed on traditional Chumash lands. Learn more at rosemarieberger.com.

Rose’s articles include:

Rose Marie Berger is available to speak at your next event. Please review our speaker instructions and guidelines or check out our full list of Sojourners speakers.

Speaking Topics

  • Christian nonviolence, peace, war
  • Catholic Nonviolence Initiative
  • Climate change, creation care, watershed discipleship
  • Bible study, liturgical year
  • Poetry
  • Spirituality and social justice
  • Any topic covered in Sojourners magazine
  • Catholicism

Speaking Format

  • Preference for virtual events, but willing to discuss in-person events on case-by-case basis

Posts By This Author

Religious Rights

by Rose Marie Berger, by 07-01-2003

Several religious bodies recently testified before the U.N. Commission on Human Rights about religious intolerance and discrimination in Pakistan. "

Objection Sustained

by Rose Marie Berger, by 07-01-2003

Interest in conscientious objection is on the rise among members of the U.S. military, according to several indicators.

Boycotting World Bank Bonds

by Rose Marie Berger, by 07-01-2003

Following a two-year organizing drive by students and faculty at the University of New Mexico, the university became the first in the United States to adopt a policy against investment in World Bank bonds.

What the Mean Streets Teach

by Rose Marie Berger, by 07-01-2003

Calling herself "Aly," the Episcopal bishop of Rhode Island, Geralyn Wolf, spent the month of January on the streets, befriending the homeless and sleeping and eating in shelters.

Not Following Orders

by Rose Marie Berger, by 07-01-2003

Lance Corporal Stephen Eagle Funk, 20, (second from left) turns himself in at his Marine Corps reserve unit after refusing to serve in the Iraq war.

Who Controls the Spigot?

by Rose Marie Berger 07-01-2003

Private companies are slurping up public water at an alarming rate.

Churches Push Amnesty Project

by Rose Marie Berger, by 07-01-2003

A coalition of Latino religious leaders from 17 states is fighting for amnesty for thousands of undocumented workers in the United States.

Real Product: Got the Cube?

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

EvangeCube slaps the entire mystery of salvation on a Rubik-style cube, enabling instant conversions in friends, family, and neighbors. Flip one way and you'll see our fall from grace.

Every Child a Soldier?

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

When public high schools opened their doors last fall, military recruiters lined up to get personal student data.

Wonder-Working Power

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

In January, Maine Interfaith Power and Light—an electricity-purchasing group rooted in the faith community—announced the availability of two green electricity options for homeowners in Maine.

Reggae to Rachmaninoff

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

For too long civic participation in the arts has been viewed as the domain of the wealthy, but a new study by the Urban Institute suggests otherwise.

Resources

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003
Building Supplies

Reading Gilgamesh on the Day 500,000 Protesters Marched Against George W. Bush and Lockheed Martin's War on Iraq

by Rose Marie Berger 05-01-2003

Go to the Cyclops, to their metalworks, to buy your armaments—

The Working World

by Rose Marie Berger 05-01-2003

Two years of economic slowdown has pushed the number of unemployed to new heights worldwide, according to a recent study by the International Labor Office.

Through a Glass, Brightly

by Rose Marie Berger 05-01-2003

The Gallery at the American Bible Society in New York City recently presented "Reflections on Glass: 20th Century Stained Glass in American Art and Architecture."

Defending Life, Rights

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

Pro-life demonstrators protested the D.C. government's use of surveillance cameras during the January March for Life

Best Practices: Ambassadors of Art

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

For years activists have called attention to the plight of the Palestinians through protests, teach-ins, and seminars.

Terrorist Training Camp?

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

Eighty-six human rights advocates from across the United States were tried in January and February in federal court for nonviolent civil disobedience

News Bites

by Rose Marie Berger, by 05-01-2003

Healing Hope. Family members of Sept. 11 victims traveled on a peace mission to Iraq in January.

My House, At Last, Grown Still

by Rose Marie Berger 05-01-2003
Into the formless void comes the "night of the spirit."