One fall afternoon — red leaves, silver drizzle — a friend and I were given a tour of Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire.  We learned many things:  how the Shakers believed in a life of unceasing prayer defined as everything one did, said and thought.  All activity was an homage to God.  As such, since God is perfect, any homage to Him must also strive for perfection.  Craftsmanship must not be profaned by inutility.  In other words, a snug-fitting, non-squeaking hinge is a prayer.  A fence that doesn’t warp, because the posts are sunk in stone, is a kind of psalm.