'Church on a Crusade'. In 1992 Sir John Weston, new #British envoy to #NATO offered his "First Impressions" to #UKGovt: "The Alliance (once described by Bevin as a "spiritual federation") has much in common with the Church, and all Allies must be her votaries". He likened #NATOSummit to "religious festivals observed with solemnity...the front seats occupied by the good and the great. Ritual takes precedence over spontaneity. Variations of traditional behaviour in the pews are discouraged."