Brethren House: Community Living on Capitol Hill, fostering simple living and supporting service and peacemaking

Our Brethren House started in 1972 as a community house for volunteers of the Brethren Volunteer Service and has been in continuous service for over 40 years. The house supports the volunteers from Brethren Volunteer Service primarily, plus other voluntary service organizations such as Action Reconciliation Service for Peace, a German organization that focuses on Jewish communities and education. Additionally, we also have residents who are engaged in volunteer and social justice work within the District of Columbia. 

The volunteers work at a variety of projects, depending on their interests and the placements that their programs have available. Currently, we have volunteers serving the Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Jewish Community Center, the Brethren Office of Peacebuilding and Policy, Mennonite Central Committee – Washington Office, the Center for Consciousness and War, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER), and Creation Justice Ministries. 

Brethren House proves to be a formative experience in the personal growth and development for most of our housemates, who are young adults. All housemates participate in “House” dinners every evening from Monday thru Thursday and share cooking responsibilities. Living in community with people from different countries, backgrounds, and opinions serves as a solid foundation for a life of service in an intercultural world. We often hear stories from our Brethren House Alumni about how much their lives changed from the powerful experience of living together.