The Church of the Brethren traces its roots back over 311 years, to 1708. Eighteenth-century Europe was a time of strong governmental control of the church and low tolerance for religious diversity. Nevertheless, there were religious dissenters who lived their faith in spite of the threat of persecution. Among them was Alexander Mack, a miller who had been influenced by both Pietism and Anabaptism. In August 1708 five men and three women gathered at the Eder River in Schwarzenau, Germany for baptism, an illegal act since all had been baptized as infants. They understood this baptism as an outward symbol of their new faith and as a commitment to living that faith in community.

Interview of Ann Schmierer, Executive Director of Wild Rivers Land Trust - nurturing land stewardship, scenic beauty, and nature.

The Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren has taken place for over 230 years. It is part business meeting and part family reunion where folks come together for worship, fellowship, and discerning the business that comes before the wider church.

This program features on of the hearings of the Poor People's Campaign, where participants share their own experiences of dealing with poverty.

For a ''step back in time,'' Brethren Voices visits the National Park of the Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland to get the rest of the story about the ''Dunker Church.'' At the 2018 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren, in Cincinnati, we also visited with Jeff Bach of the Young Center of Elizabethtown College.