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.
As I watched Rihanna perform her remarkable Halftime show yesterday —pregnant and suspended alone in mid air— my thoughts immediately went to both the new HULU 1619 Documentary, and also a sobering study reported on by the New York Times, out Sunday morning. I hope you saw them both. As I said over the weekend, […]
Congressional Republicans: Decades ago, Joe Biden told you he was a fighter from Scranton.If you paid attention at all, you knew this. McCarthy warned you not to heckle, but you did anyway; and “Sleepy Joe” Jedi mind-tricked you into applauding Social Security protection. People have misunderestimated Joe for forty years.Keep it going if you want. […]
Cody McMahan died Saturday. I had the privilege of knowing Cody for perhaps 15-20 years….I believe I’ve lost count. I believe I first met him when Cody was still a member of Greenland Hills UMC. He later joined Northaven, and still later started dating and eventually married Mike House. One of the high honors of […]
Kessler Park Friends: It’s been some time since I’ve updated you on the ongoing “split” in the United Methodist Church. I’ve been trying very hard not to “over-share” the play-by-play of almost daily developments, because it seems to me this could get exhausting. Further, as a part of my own spiritual discipline, I’ve been trying […]
It’s time to reclaim January 6th. It’s time to remember that, for 2,000 years, this date had a meaning not at all connected with Donald Trump and the insurrectionist takeover of our nation’s Capitol. I am not suggesting we “forget” the Insurrection and its murderous outcomes. I’m not suggesting we make the mistakes that the […]
We human creatures are deeply frail and fragile beings, and behind every tough exterior lives a frightened little child. It doesn’t matter whether we are “battle hardened soldiers,” or “bleeding heart artists.” It doesn’t matter if we are “brawny men,” “sensitive women,” or non-binary persons….or all the lovely configurations of all those descriptors with all […]
This week, as I reread the first verses of Luke’s Christmas story, I thought about Rey (from Star Wars), and about my own governor, Greg Abbott. Director JJ Abrams masterfully introduces the character of Rey to us in “The Force Awakens” in a sequence that is worthy of a careful look. As John Williams’ brilliant […]
It’s Christmas Day, and so it’s the perfect day to talk about shit. I’ve probably already lost some of you, because you don’t think preachers are supposed to use such words. But for those who aren’t already writing my Bishop (feel free) read along…. Artists can get away with such words better than preachers. That’s […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.