
Rose, who lived in Washington, D.C. for 35 years, lives in Oak View, Calif. She has been on Sojourners staff since 1986.
For more than 35 years, Rose has rooted herself with Sojourners magazine and ministry. 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 Neighborhood.
In the course of a 35 plus-year career in faith-based activism, advocacy journalism, and pastoral leadership, Rose has proven to be a skilled organizer, exceptional writer, visionary pastoral leader, and innovative teacher of biblical literacy.
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 section, poetry, Bible studies, and interviews – and oversees the production of study guides, discussion guides, and the online bible study Preaching the Word. She is also 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.
Rose has a veteran history in social justice activism, including: 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.
A founding member of a small creative writing group, 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 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’s articles include:
- Pursuing the Secret of Joy: What is joy when it's not promiscuously tied to happiness, Hallmark, or hedonism?
- Nonviolence in Najaf?: Will we recognize an Islamic peace movement when we see it?
- A Presidential Option for the Poor? :Venezuela's Hugo Chavez stirs up fierce criticism - and hope.
- Of Love's Risen Body: The poetry of Denise Levertov, 1923-1997
- Glimpses of God Outside the Temple: The spiritual vision of Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andy Warhol.
- Damnation Will Not Be Televised: Almost everything I know about hell I learned from watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer
She lives in Oak View, Calif., in the Ventura River watershed on traditional Chumash lands.
Posts By This Author
9-11 Relatives Visit Afghanistan
Family members of Sept. 11 victims traveled to Afghanistan last January to meet their counterparts—families who were the victims of U.S. bombings.
Kids and Sex
Teen pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates have declined in the United States since 1991. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy lists 10 rules for effective sex education programs.
Fun With Facts
In Chiapas, Mexico, farmers are getting 25 cents per pound for their coffee crop. Starbucks' specialty grind is sold for $14.95 per pound.
Just High on God
Is religion important to you? Whether you kick back a six-pack, light up a cigarette, or smoke a joint may be an indicator.
Real Product: Super Savior
Archie McPhee's new "Jesus Action Figure" bends the question "What would Jesus do?" in some very weird ways.
Evangelicals Fight Anti-Terrorism Bill
Canadian evangelicals took on Ottawa's far-reaching anti-terrorism bill last winter and won some changes.
1,000 Words
Children in Putumayo, Colombia, painted this "before and after" mural of what U.S.-sponsored aerial fumigation has done to their homeland.
Your Tax Dollars at Work
Ten U.S. soldiers from Fort Huachuca, Arizona, have been charged in a $3 million drug-running scheme...
Re-Education Camp
In Auburn, Alabama, two all-white fraternities wore blackface and Ku Klux Klan robes to Halloween parties; some even simulated a lynching. Both frats have been suspended.
First, They Kill the Lawyers
The election last year of President Vicente Fox and Chiapas Gov. Pablo Salazar brought hope to Mexico's indigenous population...
Cows for Peace
Heifer International came up with a unique solution to a sticky problem. In the 1997 Albanian civil war, more than 500,000 weapons were stolen from military depots.
News Bites
Where's Mel? Lethal Weapon movie star and death penalty abolitionist Danny Glover, below, addressed students at Princeton University last fall.
The Families That Roared
Did you see the recent Essence article about Dorothy Gaines? Or the Mademoiselle piece on Kellie Mann? Both women were convicted of minor nonviolent drug offenses.
Can I Get an 'Amen'!
Rev. Billy may not be a reverend, but he's got some good news to tell.
Worth Noting
In light of the 9-11 wars, people worldwide are digging more deeply into the study of applied nonviolence.
Resources: Building Supplies
The Catholic Worker Cooperative Bakery in Guadalupe, California, offers fresh, handmade communion bread and hosts, with 100 percent organic whole-wheat flour.
How About Your Backyard?
After years of sustained international protests against live-fire training exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, the U.S. Navy is looking elsewhere to play its war games.
Aftershocks of the Attacks
"It’s heartbreaking to see how quickly this happened and how much people are already hurting," says Rev. Alexia Salvatierra
News Bites
God Talk. Time magazine has named Stanley Hauerwas, a United Methodist professor at Duke University in North Carolina, "America’s Best Theologian."