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.
On the day after #MegaMarch2017 let me tell you another small, beautiful story about what it means to be “Church.” We had great worship, yesterday morning at church. And that was beautiful. Palm Sunday, and all. And then, almost 30 of us marched at the MegaMarch downtown. That was powerful. Big thrill of the day […]
Dear President Trump, Your daughter, Ivanka Trump, is a full grown woman. That is a statement of the obvious, but given your statements of the past day, and the defense of your press secretary of your daughter, I feel it important to state this plainly. Your daughter is also a member of your inner circle, […]
Here’s a new song from me. Stayed up till 3 am Saturday finishing it. I like how it came out. A song for our time, for the past few weeks, and for what may well be our “new normal” for a while… It’s been a crazy few weeks, yes? Inauguration. A President with disapproval ratings […]
February 2, 2017 Representative Biedermann, I regret not meeting you in person on Tuesday, as I spent the day in Austin as an ally to my Muslim brothers and sisters. However, I heard from several of them that they had fruitful face-to-face conversations with you during that day. Having heard some of their stories that […]
Muslims are under attack by executive order of our President, and by terrorists in Quebec. Make no mistake, one is related to the other. Laws such as Trump’s Muslim ban give “moral license” to bigots and crazy people. No, it is not direct causality. But these laws, and the embrace of them by preachers such […]
What if we took the gem of what Meryl Streep said last night —about having empathy toward others, and turning heartbreak into art— and just focused on that? And what I mean by this is: focus on those positive, life-giving invitations she made, and not on what Trump said afterwards? Because you knew what he […]
“We did not ask for this room or this music. We were invited in. Therefore, because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces to the light. Let us endure hardship to be grateful for plenty. We have been given pain to be astounded by joy. We have been given life to deny death. […]
(Warning: This post contains adult language) I am a Christmas Christian. I’ve known this for decades now. But only now do I feel brave enough to say it boldly. Because, in many Christian circles, it’s almost like heresy to not say “I’m an Easter Christian.” I’m one of those too. I love Easter. I come […]
Sometimes the whole story of our faith, our culture, and this great political divide between us all is made manifest in small moments that speak to you…small moments that tell big stories. That happened to me as I stood at the door after worship on Sunday. One of the very first couples of shake my […]
I cannot put together a coherent blog today. Last night and today have been exhausting and draining in ways I certainly did not expect. But I can offer you a list of things I know today… I know last night the majority of the American people, albeit a slim one, voted for an America that […]
You must be logged in to post a comment.