The Church of Scotland has condemned Home Office red tape that twice denied visas for an invited delegation of Pakistani Christians because they are too poor. The Presbytery of Glasgow vouched for the two delegates from the Church of Pakistan, invited as part of a twinning project between the two Christian communities. The Home Office refused entry to the two clergy despite the Church of Scotland assuring the Government that it is paying for the visit. The Presbytery will now raise the issue at the Home Office via Members of Parliament. The officer dealing with the case wrote to the church visitors, ‘It is acknowledged that the Church of Scotland will bear the costs of your visit. I am not satisfied you are genuinely seeking entry for a limited period - not exceeding six months. Unless financial circumstances change, future applications are likely to be refused.’

The BBC will increase its multi-faith coverage in response to a report submitted to Lord Hall by BBC religion and ethics department head Aaqil Ahmed, who said that there is an imbalance in the network's religious output. So Lord Hall will speak with religious leaders next year to change its current programming of faith-based shows. Ahmed said BBC’s coverage does not reflect the faith of Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus; ‘It’s too Christian’. Increased coverage of other faiths could include Friday prayers from a mosque along the lines of Songs of Praise. In 2011 a BBC survey found an overwhelming feeling that the BBC was in fact anti-Christian, and Christianity was consistently misrepresented. In 2012, the Director-General admitted that Christianity was treated ‘less sensitively’ than other religions. Since that time there have been numerous similar complaints of clear bias against Christianity, some coming from employees at the BBC themselves. A petition complaining about the downgrading of Christian programming can be signed at

The Archbishop of Canterbury will spend the next two years as part of a commission launched by a left-leaning think-tank that aims to rewrite the rules for Britain’s post-Brexit economy. He will join, among others, the general secretary of the TUC and the chairman of the John Lewis Partnership on the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) programme that will seek remedies for six key UK weaknesses. These are seen to be: the fact that our successful economy masks weak investment; a trade deficit; a budget deficit that will grow as the population ages; the capture of the fruits of growth by a small minority; the gap between the south-east and the rest of the country; and poor progress in meeting the country’s climate change ambitions. None of these six problems is a recent phenomenon. Each one has been worsening for a quarter of a century. Downing Street is keenly interested in the commission’s work.

30 November is St Andrew’s Day, and the Church of Scotland has called for a dedicated national day of prayer this year. St Andrew, eventually crucified upside down, is the patron saint of fishermen, and his feast day is most often remembered in fishing villages, especially in his native Scotland. The day sometimes coincides with the start of Advent (the first Sunday after 26 Nov). This St Andrew’s Day, please pray for Scotland’s Free Church to be free of complacency, and for the preaching the word to be central to all evangelism. Pray for many Christians to reflect on their lives in the light of the life of Andrew, the first-called apostle. May they also reflect on the first day of Advent, and the significance today of the message of the coming of Christ. See also