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 mentioned two weeks ago, I have yet another reason to brag about Dennise. Tonight at SMU, Dennise will receive the SMU Women’s Symposium “Profiles in Leadership Award.” The Profiles in Leadership Award “recognizes Dallas women who exemplify the purpose of the Women’s Symposium, which is to educate women for social and political leadership.” […]
Thanks to all who came out to Friday’s show, sponsored by HPUMC’s Cornerstone Community. Once again, Connections Band had a great night. Our tribute to the Eagles and Chicago was another marvelous success. About 200 folks came out on a windy and rainy night to hear the great music. Each band member got numerous kind […]
Now and then, I get the great honor of bragging about my wife. (I’ll do it again in about two weeks…) This time, it’s a DMN story set to run in this morning’s edition (Feb 15) . A reporter and photog followed Dennise and her staff around for the day, working the angle of what […]
Your favorite tribute band is back again. The band formerly known as “Living Legacy Band” is now known as “Connections.” (It’s a long story…) And we’ll be playing our Eagles/Chicago Tribute Show at the end of the February. Here are the details: Connections in Concert Tribute to the Eagles and Chicago Friday, February 23, 7 […]
Early on, I drank deeply from the Apple Koolaid. I’ve been a Mac guy ever since. Unabashedly. Unapologeticly. Unrepentantly. Unwaveringly. When I was younger, I used to get into long debates, and enjoyed the tit for tat fight of “Mac vs. PC.” But as I got older, I tired of that. I no longer debate […]
It wasn’t a lot of snow. It didn’t even cover the ground because of all the rain that preceded it and the mild temperatures of the days before. But it snowed here today. It snowed for an hour and a half where we were. Big, wet flakes that vanished when they hit the ground, but […]
This is last minute notice, but a very old friend of mine is having her CD Release party this evening. List Markley’s new CD “The Sky is Blue and Sometimes Cries” will be featured at a great show tonight at Sons of Hermann Hall: Lisa Markley CD Release Gala Thursday January 25, 2007 7:00 pm […]
This morning, I am remembering this entry from two years ago today. I hope you are honoring the holiday. In case you need a reminder of why we celebrate this day, here’s one of Dr. King’s more famous speeches: Please visit Eric’s original blog here: http://www.wheneftalks2.blogspot.com/
For those of us interested in the connection between art and spirituality (and, actually, I hope that is most of us…) there’s a new local podcast out there that you need to check out. It’s called “Art and Soul of North Texas,” and it’s created by my friend Shelly Niebuhr. Shelly is a wonderful artist […]
I cannot recommend highly enough this essay titled “A Matter of Pride: Why We Can’t Buy Off the Next Osama Bin Laden.” The essay is a helpful addition to our understanding of what makes a terrorist “tick.” The authors (Peter Bergen and Michael Lind) first take issue with the “conventional wisdom” that “poverty leads to […]
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