Minute of Encouragement and Support

Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in its 332nd annual gathering, "Called to be Peacemakers," held July 28–August 3, 2003, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, sends its support and encouragement to Dominican Sisters Ardeth Platte, Carol Gilbert and Jackie Hudson for their witness on behalf of peace.

At this time of crisis, when our government has undertaken pre-emptive war, we believe that taking visible actions on behalf of peace is critically needed. Such actions provide a beacon of hope to seekers of peace everywhere. On October 6, 2002, near Greeley, Colorado, these three Sisters committed civil disobedience by cutting a fence, smearing their own blood on an unmanned Minuteman III missile silo, and hitting it with a ball peen hammer. They then sat down to sing, pray and chant and await arrest. They call this act a symbolic act to protest war and raise awareness. The Sisters are part of a national nuclear disarmament organization, ‘Sacred Earth and Space Plowshares.’ Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte live in Baltimore, Maryland, at Jonah House, an activist community founded by the late peace activist Philip Berrigan. Jackie Hudson lives in an activist community in Seattle, Washington.

The judge in the case, Robert Blackburn, called the Sisters ‘dangerously irresponsible,’ but sentenced them to less than the maximum possible eight years in prison due to their record of community service combined with the minimal damage they caused. On July 25, 2003, he sentenced Platte, age 66, to 41 months; Gilbert, 55, to 33 months; and Hudson, 68, to 30 months, plus, for each, three years probation. Prior to sentencing, Sister Carol Gilbert stated, ‘Whatever sentence I receive today will be joyfully accepted as an offering for peace, and with God’s help it will not injure my spirit.’

Sisters, we wish to let you know that we are deeply touched by, and grateful for, your courage and faith, both in committing your acts of  civil disobedience and in accepting and facing your sentences, We will be holding you in the Light as you move forward in your commitment to the cause of peace."

 

Approved July 2003

Baltimore Yearly Meeting Annual Session