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.

Ed Upton

August 11, 2006.Reading time 27 minutes.

Dr. Ed Upton A Eulogy Given at Northaven UMC June 24, 2005 I cannot remember the first time I met Ed Upton. Which is to say that I was too young at the time to remember the first time I knew Ed Upton. You see, although I would not know it until years later, the […]

Bluebell Ice Cream

August 9, 2006.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s made down at what they call the “little creamery in Brenham.” But that’s the biggest understatement of the year. It’s a huge factory. And now, I understand, they have factories in other states too. But they retain that small town sense of being from Brenham…in their ads, their marketing, and in their company ethos. […]

Rising Like the Phoenix: The Rebirth of My Website and Blog

August 1, 2006.Reading time 7 minutes.

“Found deep water…for I even learned to swim Found deep water…for I even learned to swim Never thought I’d see the sun again.” Like an honest fool, I first turned to technical support. I tried the message boards associated with the software because that’s what the company suggested. The software is called iBlog. And while […]

Welcome to "When EF Talks!"

July 30, 2006.Reading time 16 minutes.

Welcome to “When EF Talks!” Eric Folkerth’s blog on music, spirituality, politics and life. I tend to write on all four of these things, and often the intersections between them. If you want to know more about me, this is probably the best quick and dirty source. Because the various core topics of the blog […]

Other Blogs on the Phantom Fouls

July 27, 2006.Reading time 12 minutes.

Martini Republic NBA reaches WWF levels of un-credibilty June 20th, 2006 After deciding game 5 of the NBA finals with a disputed call at the end of the game, the referees decided to end any questions regarding the credibility of the NBA by calling a foul when Dwayne Wade(sic) appeared to throw an arm into […]

Why I Can’t Afford to Love the Rangers

July 7, 2006.Reading time 14 minutes.

I’ve been there beside this miserable team since the very beginning. It’s not just that I’ve been attached to players like Pudge Rodriguez. It’s that I’ve been attached to players like David Clyde. I’ve been attached to Jeff Burroughs (Had a poster of him up in my room as a kid…all the while knowing that […]

July Fourth Radio (I’ll be on it…listen in…)

July 4, 2006.Reading time 1 minute.

You’ve heard me talk here before about my friend, Charles Geilich, and his radio show, “A Lawyer and a Cop.” I’m neither a lawyer or a cop, but I’ll be co-hosting with Charles on Tuesday morning, July 4th….here’s the scoop: A Lawyer and a Cop KNON Radio, 89.3 FM, Dallas or streaming at: http://www.knon.org We […]

Final Thoughts from a "Bitter" P1

July 2, 2006.Reading time 4 minutes.

Thanks to Gordon Keith and Bob and Dan putting the link on their blogs. Bob and Dan’s blog called me a “bitter P1.” However, even as they change out much of the other info on their blog, they’ve kept the link to my post on their main page for well over a week. Soooo, methinks […]

Wade was Treated Differently (And it Made a Difference)

June 24, 2006.Reading time 7 minutes.

You can’t come to any other conclusion, if you look at the facts. I’ve supplied some video evidence to that end. But some folks still insist on claiming that “there were probably just as many bad calls against the Heat.” That’s possible. But I don’t care to look it up, because I don’t have to. […]

Spring Valley Coffeehouse

June 23, 2006.Reading time 1 minute.

In all the Mavs excitement, I need to remind you about the gig this Friday. I’ll be returning to Spring Valley UMC for their second coffeehouse. You may remember that SVUMC was the site of the incredible Dan Fogelberg Tribute Show a few months back. This time, I’ll be headlining the show, and playing my […]