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.

The Light Dawns Slowly

October 30, 2009.Reading time 18 minutes.

Important relearned life lesson during the past few weeks: I am not in control.I know this. I really do. I teach/preach/sing it all the time. I celebrate with others when they re-discover it too. But it seems to me that the most important life lessons get learned and relearned. We have short memories. The light […]

Me Braun @ Opening Bell

October 13, 2009.Reading time 1 minute.

Wanted to be sure everybody heard about Meg Braun‘s show tomorrow night at Opening Bell in Dallas. I met Meg this May at Kerrville, when she not only became a “Kerrvert,” but was also firmly initiated into the Camp Nashbill family. (Those of you for whom that last sentence made no sense, just smile and […]

Camp Nashbill Virtual Song Circle

October 9, 2009.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Many of us love a good song circle. Among the circles we love the most are the song circles at “Camp Nashbill” at the Kerrville Folk Fest. In the belief that “it can be this way always,” below you will be our growing attempt at a “virtual song circle,” uploaded songs from our Camp Nashbill […]

$70,000

September 29, 2009.Reading time 1 minute.

Connections debuted our new show last night, the SuperHits of the 70s. It was a fantastic night. We had over 350 persons in attendance and, as they say, a good time was had by all. Even with all the planning and forethought that goes into a show like this, we never really know how it’ll […]

"Love In Time," A Final Gift from Dan Fogelberg

September 22, 2009.Reading time 8 minutes.

Most of you who know my musical tastes know the hallowed, and unabashed, place that Dan Fogelberg holds in my heart. Dan died far too young. To this day, many times when I’m listening to his music, it’s hard for me to fathom that he’s been gone for almost two years now. And even now, […]

Apology Still Needed

September 10, 2009.Reading time 6 minutes.

Let me first say that I still have not seen President Obama’s speech to our nation tonight. We’re decided to make it a “homework night” around here, so the television is off. However, I have already seen one clip from the speech, involving the unbecoming behavior of Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina. Rep. Wilson […]

All the Good We Can: A Sermon on Healthcare

September 7, 2009.Reading time 3 minutes.

Sunday’s sermon seems to be getting a lot of positive comment from folks in various quarters. When that happens, I tend to post it to my personal blog, in the hopes that anybody else who might find it helpful can easily find it. It’s a sermon about healthcare. As you can’t help but know, this […]

Senator Kennedy’s Letter to Pope Benedict

August 30, 2009.Reading time 5 minutes.

I haven’t written much about the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Today was his funeral in Boston and graveside service at Arlington Cemetery. We had a busy personal day with a whole series of activities that kept us away from the television for most of it. But one moment we happened to see really captured […]

Health Care Blog

August 19, 2009.Reading time 2 minutes.

Since Health Care is in the news, and since some folks who commented on my blog yesterday seem hungry for a serious discussion of the issues, I remembered a blog I wrote last year on Health Care and the Federal Government. You can find it here. Why it took me two months of current national […]

It Wasn’t That Long Ago

August 18, 2009.Reading time 10 minutes.

Set aside your beliefs about health care for a moment. Friends, things are getting out of hand with respect to respect for the President. Things are getting out of hand with respect to the things people are saying about Barack Obama. Things are getting out of hand with respect to their actions. I have written […]