2

the Friend INDEPENDENT QUAKER JOURNALISM SINCE 1843

CONTENTS VOL 169 NO 25 3 Quakers welcome consultation on civil partnerships 4-5 Worship at the airbase

Jo Hallett and Pete Duckworth 6 The march of militarism Ken Veitch 7 Another soldier dies Alastair McIntosh 8-9 Letters 10-12 Resurrection not victim Simon Western 13 The emergence of pondering Howard Grace 14-15 Nonviolence for a change Caroline Westgate 16 Q-eye 17 Friends & Meetings

Cover image: The hands of a father and child. Photo: Gig Harbour Photography/flickr CC. See pages 10-12.

Image on this page: Meeting for Worship at RAF Croughton. Photo courtesy Pete Duckworth. See pages 4-5.

‘And the end of words is to bring men to the knowledge of things beyond what words can utter.’

Isaac Penington

Impact of postage price rise The trustees of The Friend Publications, given the difficult economic climate, had intended to keep subscription rates unchanged this year. However, as readers will know, Royal Mail increased postal rates earlier this year. To cover this increase in postal charges, from £19 to £21 a year, it is necessary to increase the annual postal subscription to the Friend by £2 effective from 1 July 2011. To mitigate this increase, and offer readers a way of spreading the cost, the monthly direct debit subscription is being held at £6.50 per month. Friends Quarterly rates are being held unchanged, as postage is a much smaller factor in the cost. The internet subscription to the Friend is also being held at £48 a year. We thank our loyal subscribers for their support and welcome comments on our publications and their content.

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Editorial

Editor: Ian Kirk-Smith Articles, images, correspondence should be emailed to editorial@thefriend.org or sent to the address below.

the Friend 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ Tel: 020 7663 1010 Fax: 020 7663 1182 www.thefriend.org Editor: Ian Kirk-Smith editorial@thefriend.org • Sub-editor: Trish Carn trishc@thefriend.org • Production editor: Elinor Smallman production@ thefriend.org • News reporter: Symon Hill news@thefriend.org • Production/editorial assistant : Harriet Hart harriet@thefriend.org • Arts editor: Rowena Loverance arts@thefriend.org • Environment editor: Laurie Michaelis green@thefriend.org • Subscriptions officer: Penny Dunn subs@ thefriend.org Tel: 020 7663 1178 • Advertisement manager: George Penaluna, Ad department, 54a Main Street, Cononley, Keighley BD20 8LL Tel: 01535 630230 ads@thefriend.org • Clerk of the trustees: A David Olver • ISSN: 0016-1268 The Friend Publications Limited is a registered charity, number 211649 • Printed by Headley Bros Ltd, Queens Road, Ashford, Kent TN24 8HH

the Friend, 1 July 2011