God And Geometry

Many years ago and for a brief period I worked in Westminster Abbey. One morning as I was in Poet’s Corner I was approached by the then Dean of Westminster who asked me asked me to come and see him in his office that day at 2:30PM.

At the agreed time I knocked on his office door and he opened it and bade me to enter and take a seat. What happened next made me wonder if there were a hidden camera crew who were going to suddenly appear and inform me that it was all a prank, no that did not happen.

Instead, he said the following to me: “I need someone to conduct the services in St. Margaret’s Church. You would have to meet and greet the members of the House of Lords once a month and meet the Queen once a year. Here is a Bible, The Book of Common Prayer and The Hymnal. Think it over and let me know”. I left his office with the books in my hand still wondering if it was all prank. Two days later I returned the books that he had loaned to me and thanked him for his offer and told him that it was not really for me.

Again, two weeks later in Poet’s Corner I was greeted by the Dean of Westminster who wished me a good morning. When I told him that I had a matter on my mind that I had pondered from time to time he inquired as to the nature of it. 'If God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent why do we kneel down to offer prayers up to God since by the very definition of omnipresent God is neither up nor down, left nor right?' I could tell by the expression on his face that he was uncomfortable. He just walked off without saying a word.