
Rose, a native of the West Coast, lives in Washington, D.C. She has been on Sojourners staff since 1986.
For more than 30 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.
A native of the West Coast, Rose has lived in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. since the mid-1980s. In the course of a 30 plus-year career in faith-based activism, advocacy journalism, and pastoral leadership, she 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 Associate 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 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 the Southern Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in the Anacostia watershed on traditional Piscataway lands.
Posts By This Author
If These Walls Could Talk
Karmen is an animated building whose mission is to harbor peace within her dilapidated walls.
Did You Hear?
The "Words Can Heal" campaign, recently launched by Rabbi Chaim Feld, teaches positive communication skills and aims to stop hurtful speech.
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.
In Good Times and in Bad
While its sometimes hard for corporate giants to do the right thing, networking powerhouse Cisco Systems is taking the lead in good times and in bad.
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."
How much does "free" trade REALLY cost?
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) turns 8 in January 2002. Congress is now considering a hemispheric expansion in the form of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
Small Arms x 500 Million
While the U.S. government condemns the weapons programs of impoverished nations such as Iraq and North Korea, it remains a world leader in the production and sale of small arms...
Barbie Busting
Never one to miss out on market share, Mattel's Girls Division has added "Quinceañera Barbie" as their first "Hispanic-tradition" theme doll.
Potent Quotable
"Thank you for your letter expressing concern about the use of Abbott's sodium thiopental in capital punishment procedures."
Twelve Days of Christmas
26: St. Stephen's Day: Give to the poor all that you don't need.
News Bites
Pram Time. Fifteen nonviolent demonstrators, including four children, occupied the Colombian consulate in Sydney, Australia, in August...
Resources: Building Supplies
The Christian Information Service in Croatia has published a small but powerful book titled RefuJesus. Author and activist Boris Peterlin meditates on Jesus in today's refugee camps.
Visigoths and the City of God
When the Visigoths sacked Rome, the Eternal City, in 410 C.E., the attackers used the city's own mighty transportation system-the Appian Way-as the weapon of its downfall.
Fun With Facts
The Navy's Blue Angels have used 5.5 trillion gallons of kerosene-based jet fuel for training alone. New Yorkers used 2.2 billion gallons of kerosene in 1997 to stay warm.
An Advent Meditation
This is to all who serve on the human front, wearing any mask that will get you home. A word: While we are all dying to get out, there is one who died to get in.
Speaking in Tongues
The faith-based anti-globalization movement is learning some new words.
Where Your Treasure Is
Americans are looking for socially responsible corporations, but many corporations haven't yet caught on.
Yo Quiero Justicia
Would you be willing to pay a fourth of a penny more for your chalupa if it meant that farm workers could earn a living wage?