Author: ericfolkerth

Eric Folkerth is a minister, musician, author and blogger. He is Senior Pastor of Kessler Park UMC United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas. Previously, he was pastor at Northaven UMC in Dallas for seventeen years. Eric loves to write on topics of spirituality, social justice, music/art and politics. The entries on this blog reflect that diversity of interests. His passion for social justice goes beyond mere words. He’s been arrested at the White House, defending immigrants and “The Dreamers,” and he’s officiated at same sex weddings in his churches, in defiance of what some believe is Methodist teaching. Eric is an avid blogger and published author, and 2017 recipient of the prestigeous Kuchling Humanitarian Award from Dallas’ Black Tie Dinner. (Human Rights Campaign) Eric has led or co-led hundreds of persons on mission trips around the globe, to places such as Mexico, Haiti, Russia, and Nepal. He has worked with lay persons to build ten homes, and one Community Center, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Dallas. He’s a popular preacher, and often tackles challenging issues of social justice in his writings and sermons. His wife, Judge Dennise Garcia, is a State District Judge for Dallas, County. As judge of the 303rd Family District Court, she consistently gets high ratings from area lawyers, and was named “best judge” by The Dallas Observer. First elected in 2004, she was the first Latina ever elected to a county-wide bench in Dallas County, and is currently the longest service district judge in that district. She was re-elected for a fourth term in 2018. They have the world’s best daughter, Maria, and an incredible dog, Daisy. Find links to Eric’s music-related websites, at the top of this site’s navigation menu.

Faithspotting: Echo, Part 1

May 17, 2021.Reading time 1 minute.

Pretty excited to be a part of this podcast, with friends Kenny Dickson and Mike Hatch. Since I’m both a songwriter and preacher, they invited me to to talk about the great documentary “Echo in the Canyon.”It traces the roots of an amazing tradition of music in the iconic “Laurel Canyon” area of LA. Listen […]

Connecting the Dots of Yesterday

January 21, 2021.Reading time 13 minutes.

Don’t ever again tell me “the parties are the same.”Don’t ever again tell me “non-violent action doesn’t work.”Don’t ever again tell me “elections don’t matter.” These are the three biggest lies — the three greatest disincentives to voting and activism — that I have heard during the past four years. Time and time again, I’ve heard them repeated online, […]

Our Flag Is Still There

January 20, 2021.Reading time 3 minutes.

I’ve been dubious about The National Anthem and our flag, for several years now…having been stunned to learn the Anthem’s racists verses (the ones we never sing…) and having been deeply impressed by the “Take a Knee” movement regarding the flag. (“America The Beautiful,” and This Land…” are both better choices, imho…) But this morning, […]

What White America Taught Me About Martin Luther King.

January 19, 2021.Reading time 22 minutes.

Because I grew up as an “average” White American, my learnings about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have mostly come from White America. I was in my mid-20s before I first understood this. Only now, in my mid-50s, can I actually look back and see the lessons more clearly. With the benefit of hindsight, I […]

The Tribe of Everybody Else

January 16, 2021.Reading time 24 minutes.

A Message To White America “Let me put it this way, there were a number of folks who got up on the floor and gave the same speech, you know that night…while there was a crime scene investigation and a dead woman’s blood drying just a few feet outside the door….they were giving the same […]

When “Public Service” Gets Crushed

January 9, 2021.Reading time 9 minutes.

Everybody is haunted by the images of this week.The Nazi shirts…the Confederate flag…the man with zip ties in military gear…the wild-eyed looks of these insurrectionists. But I’ve been deeply stirred by two images.One, of this Capitol police officer being crushed.The other, of Representative Andy Kim cleaning up the trash. I know that this is a […]

Choose wisely

January 7, 2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

If you are a Trump supporter who condemns yesterday’s insurrection against the United States, if you believe yourself to be a Christian or a decent person, today is a day to forever take down your Trump flags and put away your MAGA hats. Whatever you believe these symbols mean, or *want* them to mean, they […]

As We Go On

January 2, 2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

As We Go OnWords and Music: Eric Folkerth the turning of the yearthe turning of a pagelisten and you’ll hearall this restlessness and ragesadness in our eyeshearts still in griefwe say our goodbyeto the Orange-headed thief… as we go on…we go on…we go on…we go on… so nurse up your achesbut listen to that rageand […]

Coffee on the Porch: 12/22/20

December 22, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Conversation:We talk about “Love” and how our pandemic Christmas will be different. Eric unpacks the classic song “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” as the perfect song of this season.Featured Songs:“Love is There,” by Grace Pettis.”O Little Town of Bethlehem,” by Phillips Brooks & Lewis Redner.”Silent Night,” by Joseph Mohr & Franz Gruber.”Have Yourself A […]

Coffee On the Porch: 12/15/20

December 15, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.