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.

A Rock Hammer, Not Resolutions

January 1, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

One of my favorite films is “The Shawshank Redemption.” And as the year “turns,” I am thinking about that film, about its lead character, and about a concept I write about almost every year at this time: “Resolve to Not Resolve.” The film was based on the short story by Stephen King, called “Rita Hayworth […]

A Peaceful Night

December 25, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

After our worship services last night, I had a really great Christmas Eve with The Judge and The Divine Miss M. I am only now able to write about it. We snuck into Calle Doce on Skillman for Christmas Eve margaritas and Mexican food just before closing time. Because, why not? From there, we drove […]

Merry Christmas, Everyone

December 25, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Christmas Message, 2018

December 24, 2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

One of the things I have always dearly loved about our East Dallas neighborhood is how it’s a beautiful and somewhat chaotic mix of all kinds of people living together in one place. It’s folks from all walks of life *choosing* to live next to those who are quite different from them. One minute, you’ll […]

In-CAR-Nation Talk with Me and Wes Magruder

December 20, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

So, this happened… Wes Magruder invited me to be his guest on his “In-CAR-Nation Talk” show…a shameless rip off of both Jerry Seinfeld and James Cordon, where-in we drive around my East Dallas neighborhood, and talk Christmas and Incarnational Theology. It was pretty humorous and pretty fun, and we got to talk about one one […]

Pass It On

November 13, 2018.Reading time 14 minutes.

“It only takes a spark To get a fire going And soon all those around Can warm up in its glowing That’s how it is with God’s love Once you’ve experienced it You spread His love to ev’ryone You want to pass it on” — Kurt Kaiser The early history of me and the guitar […]

A Small Moment of Peace

November 2, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

Last night, I had this brief moment of peace and beauty that has stayed with me through this morning. I was walking through the sideyard, past the wood pile, crunching down the decompressed granite path, a large bag of birdseed hoisted over my shoulder. As I refilled the backyard feeders, I could feel the crisp, […]

More on Moral Licensing

November 1, 2018.Reading time 10 minutes.

I want to circle back around to the concept of “Moral Licensing” and what’s happening in our world. While I’ve said a lot the past few days, I probably didn’t have the laser-focus I could have in what I said. So, a bit more….and first, some rapid-fire facts….things that cannot, or should not, be disputed […]

Enemy-Making in a Time of Peace

October 30, 2018.Reading time 19 minutes.

If I had one book that I could force everyone in the world to read (and I know that I cannot…) it would be Sam Keen’s “Faces of the Enemy.” Besides the Bible, it’s hard to name a single book that has had a more profound impact on my life. I reread it often. I […]

Frank Sinatra’s Eyes

October 4, 2018.Reading time 13 minutes.

A little more than a year ago, some social justice friends invited me to offer a prayer from our United Methodist tradition at a protest. The protest was outside the corporate offices of a company involved in the Keystone Pipeline. I was happy to go, and offer prayer. But at the end of the protest, […]