the Friend INDEPENDENT QUAKER JOURNALISM SINCE 1843

CONTENTS VOL 170 NO 32

3 Thought for the Week:

Truth, faith and religious belief Terry Wood 4 News 5 Being obedient Diana Sandy 6-7 Business and worship Oliver Robertson 8-9 Letters 10-11 The last taboo Ben Francis 12-13 A quiet place Mary-Anne Hall 14 Worship in Norway Anthony Woolhouse 15 Letting go Tim Hather 16 q-eye: a look at the Quaker world 17 Friends & Meetings

Cover image: Gladiolus at Charney Manor. Photo: Trish Carn.

Hiroshima Day

.lley / CND

Fo

: Ben

Photo

HIROSHIMA DAY, 6 August 2012, was celebrated all over the world – sixty seven years after the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Several hundred peace campaigners met in Tavistock Square, London, where Tony Benn described the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the ‘greatest war crime’ ever.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome – above) was the only structure left standing in the area where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6 August 1945.

Through the efforts of many people, including those of the city of Hiroshima, it has been preserved in the same state as immediately after the bombing.

The dome is a powerful and stark reminder of the most destructive force ever created by humankind. It is also regarded as an expression of hope for world peace and the ultimate elimination of all nuclear weapons.

2

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Editorial

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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 • 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: Janet Scott • 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, 10 August 2012