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. Eric was arrested at the White House, defending immigrants and “The Dreamers;” and he’s officiated at same sex weddings. Eric was the 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 to build houses and bring medical care around the globe, to places such as Mexico, Haiti, Russia, Guatemala, and Nepal. He is proud of have shephereded Highland Park UMC's construction of ten Habitat for Humanity homes, (and one Community Center) and helped forge an alliance with Habitat that led to the construction of 100 homes in Dallas, housing thousands of people. His wife, Justice Dennise Garcia, has 20 years experience as a state district judge and appelate justice in North Texas. First elected in 2004, she was the first Latina ever elected to a Dallas County state district bench, and she she left that position whe was the longest currently serving district judge. In 2020 Dennise Garcia was a elected as a Justice of the 5th District Court of Appeals for Texas. She is currently running to be Chief of the 5th District Court of Appeals in the 2024 cycle. They have the world’s best daughter, Maria, who is a practicing professional counselor in Dallas. Find links to Eric’s music-related websites, at the top of this site’s navigation menu.

Bruce Rouse

March 3, 2005.Reading time 13 minutes.

Back from Austin, and two days with the Rouse family and all his friends. As I mentioned at the end of last month’s blog, Bruce’s family asked me to be a part of the leadership for his memorial service, something I considered a great, if unwanted, honor… Logistically, it was a little bit difficult to […]

Dunn Bros Gig: March 4

February 28, 2005.Reading time less than 1 minute.

In other news, I’ve also picked up a last-minute weekend gig…. I’ll be playing at Dunn Bros. Coffee in Addison on Friday. More details here. This is kind of a last minute gig…I’m filling in for a cancellation. But if you have time Friday and are in the area, stop on by! Please visit Eric’s […]

Bruce Rouse Dies

February 25, 2005.Reading time 2 minutes.

Unbelievable. Another folk music friend has died. The email came in yesterday that Bruce Rouse died over the weekend. I talked with his family some in the past few hours, and they have asked me to help lead the funeral on Wednesday. It’s an honor, but one I’d rather not have. What a shock. Apparently, […]

Rachel Bissex

February 24, 2005.Reading time 6 minutes.

Rachel’s funeral was yesterday, up in Vermont. As I moved through the day yesterday, I thought more and more about her. I swapped emails with Annie Wenz this week. Annie was a very good friend of Rachel’s, and in addition to being a fine singer-songwriter, she was a psych nurse for many years. I told […]

Too Much Death (Rachel Bissex has died. So has my next-door neighbor)

February 21, 2005.Reading time 7 minutes.

I was planning to blog a little about my quick trip to Austin last week. But other stuff has been happening that has sort of pushed that aside. I find that, during the past few weeks, a lot of folks I know, one way or another, have died. More than usual. A couple of weeks […]

Only the Beginning: I confess my undying love for the band, Chicago.

February 3, 2005.Reading time 9 minutes.

Bought two CDs the other day: “Chicago: The Very Best of: Only the Beginning.” Man! I love this disk!! If you have been looking for just ONE Chicago CD to own, this should be it. Some of you who know my music may be surprised to find that for many years of my life, I […]

MLK Day

January 17, 2005.Reading time 6 minutes.

What follows is an absolutely true, and and pretty much verbatim MLK Day story… “So, how was school today, Maria?” “Fine, Daddy.” “What did you learn today, sweetie?” “We learned about Mar….Martin….Martin Luther…” “Martin Luther King?” “Yes! We learned about Martin Luther King.” “What did you learn about Martin Luther King, sweetie?” “Well….there was this […]

Erik Balkey

January 13, 2005.Reading time 1 minute.

Got to hang with Erik Balkey a little bit on Friday. Great to see him and catch up. He came over and we caught lunch at Cindy’s, and then came back home and traded a few songs here. He’s playing in and around Dallas several times during this next week, so be sure and go […]

What the Bleep….do we know?

January 11, 2005.Reading time 2 minutes.

I saw “What the Bleep Do we Know” the other day….last Friday afternoon, actually. I’d been wanting to see it for some time, because of my natural interest in spiritual things. Many of you have recommended that I see it. I came away really having enjoyed it, but also with having been troubled by some […]

Goodbye, Cruel Year (Adios to a rough year for the world)

December 31, 2004.Reading time 11 minutes.

Hard to believe how quickly the time continues to turn. I write today on the last day of the year. Those of you who’ve been following our personal lives know that Dennise won here election. I need to give a big thanks to all of you who voted, volunteered, and helped out. Judge Dennise Garcia […]