In September, Houston, from Hillsong Australia, denied reports that the White House rejected to have him at a state dinner with Australian leaders.

The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is a Christian and friends with Houston, wanted him there but that the White House turned down the PM’s request.

Wonderful stopping by a worship leaders briefing today at the @WhiteHouse! America is a proud Nation of believers and our Administration will always defend the freedom of religion of every American, of every faith! pic.twitter.com/1IaeQ1gOZJ

— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) December 6, 2019

In a video put online on Tuesday posted by the White House, Houston said he had just been praying for Donald Trump in the Oval Office and that “I do, as an Australian, really believe that we need a strong America in the world, and when America is strong the world is a better place.”

“When America is strong, the world is a better place. What a great opportunity it’s been to see some of the initiatives that are happening to help freedom of religion.” @BrianCHouston pic.twitter.com/NAzBDsFF9t

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 9, 2019

He praised initiatives which he said were helping freedom of religion by the administration.

“What a great opportunity it has been to see some of the initiatives that are happening…

Eric Marshall, from Bagby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, has been putting up the display – which now includes hundreds of sets of lights – for around 30 years for the Church of St Mary. 

People from around the world come to see the stunning light show, which has even attracted the attention of Hollywood film-makers.

Mr Marshall, who turns 80 on Thursday, said the display takes him all of November to put up, ready to switch on on 1st December.

He told the PA news agency: “I do everything by myself, I’m up there on the roof putting them up.

“I’ll keep doing it for as long as I can, everybody seems to enjoy what I am doing. I’ll go as long as I possibly can if my health holds out.

“My wife Jean keeps moaning at me that this will be the last year, but I don’t take any notice.”

Mr Marshall said the display had grown over the years from just one set of lights.

He said: “I set off with that Santa and a sleigh over there and all the children came to see, and then I got a few more and a few more and it’s grown to this, what you can see today.”

The pensioner said buses and taxis make special journeys to bring people to see his lights and, in 2010, he was visited by film-makers from Hollywood who included his display in a television documentary about Christmas…

Sixty projects applied for the funding from the diocese’s development fund which launched earlier this year to help parishes with little resources fund mission projects and short term, one-off grants are available to parishes to support an event or to kick start a new initiative as well as grants available for larger initiatives and long-term programmes that require substantial sums.

A church cafe, messy church and the extension of a Narnia exhibition are some of the projects that received funding, as well as plans to help the homeless with new toilets, showers and washing machines.

John Sykes, chair of the Development Fund Review Panel, said: “Not every new initiative to become more Christ-like needs funding to get going, but some do. The panel had the challenging but rewarding task of deciding which projects would be successful in their bids for the first round of funding. We were delighted by the high standard and thoughtful nature of the applications we received.”

Janet Rogers, programme manager for the fund, said churches will be helped through training as well: “Some projects may not have been given a grant, but we’re supporting them in other ways. For example, parishes who were looking for help with their websites and social media will be invited to training workshops to form a learning community.”

Other parishes will receive advice for youth initiatives…

Following high profile cases of violence against women in India, Christian Aid urges those in power not only to punish perpetrators of violence, but also to address the structural inequalities that it says hinder the implementation of policies that would keep women and girls safe.

The charity says more needs to be done to address the patriarchal norms and structural inequalities in India that continue to keep women and girls trapped in a cycle of poverty.

In a new report, War on Women: The global toll of conflict and violence, Christian Aid stresses that global gender inequality is exacerbated by the prevalence of all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), including forced abortions, rape, female genital mutilation and femicide.

The international NGO has asked leaders in countries, including India, where UN policies to address the issue are not fully implemented, to pay attention to the implementation of the CEDAW (UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) report.

In India, millions of poor minority and excluded communities, including Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims, are trapped in poverty as a result of stark inequalities, such as gender, caste, ethnicity and religion.

Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to consequential violence – at home and on the…