Favorite charities, take three

I've written two posts in the past on my favorite charities. I would think that one would have been enough, yet here I feel compelled to do it again, as my interests have shifted. At least they shifted a little bit. Not a whole lot though, so it will actually be kind of repetitive.

• Helping people, international: AFSC, Oxfam, MercyCorps.
• Helping people, local: Joseph's House and Shelter, Unity House.
• Advocacy: Friends Committee on National Legislation, ACLU.
• Sustainable agriculture and renewable energy: I have not yet picked enough favorite charities in this category, so for now, it's just Capital District Community Gardens.
• Education: Again, I have not yet picked enough favorite charities in this category. This should include education around the world. In the U.S. it should include education for poor people and immigrants. It should include all levels, preschool through adult. In addition to academic material, it should encompass outdoor education and service learning. My area of expertise is higher education, so for the now, in this category, I've got Haverford College, Marlboro College, and College of the Atlantic.
  
• Support your local farmer's market, small businesses, public library, public radio station, and folk music venues. In my case, this includes Troy Waterfront Farmer's Market, Oliver's Naturals, Market Block Books, Troy Public Library, WAMC, WUMB, WMUD, and WMPG.
  

Pantheist view of the afterlife

My view of the afterlife, which I consider to be a Pantheist view, is expressed in "Fall Down as the Rain," by Joe Crookston and by "In Dead Earnest" by Lee Hays.

"Fall Down as the Rain" says in part,

And if I get to heaven

I will not stay

I’ll turn myself around again

And fall down as the rain

And when I finally reach the ground

I’ll soak into the sod

Turn myself around again

Come up as goldenrod

Check out Joe Crookston's Fall Down as the Rain album for the full song.

And here's a bit from "In Dead Earnest" by Lee Hays:

Worms, water, sun will have their way,
Returning me to common clay
All that I am will feed the trees
And little fishes in the seas.

The rest of the words can be seen at http://www.peteseeger.net/indeadearnest.htm.