Re-Opening of Parents Day Out

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

This week, our Parents Day Out Program opened back up for the children we serve here in North Oak Cliff. We are operating on a significantly limited basis, with very small classes and rigid protocols. This is consistent with what many other United Methodist childcare programs are doing in Dallas County, and at key points our Staff Parish Committee and Board of Trustees have consulted in this process. In fact, we have learned that a significant number of childcare programs in our Dallas area churches have been operating and open for some time.

Obviously, this is a challenging decision and not without risk. Special gratitude goes to both Pastor Kay Ash and PDO Director LaTara Thompkins, who have been putting in very long hours over the past several weeks preparing for this. As we said, the class sizes are extremely small, both out of an abundance of caution and out of the self-selection of our PDO parents. This will hopefully allow our PDO staff to “soft open” and see just how functioning at a reduced level might work over the long haul. I would ask you to continue to pray for all of our staff and PDO families, as they daily navigate the difficult decisions and processes of being open during the time of COVID.

Paying Taxes and Giving to God

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Maybe it’s something in the water, but this scripture has crossed my desk twice this week. First was when I got a call from a reporter in Austin, doing a story on the President’s taxes, and I shared the passage with her as one of the times Jesus talked about taxes and government in the Bible.

The second time was when I opened my Bible to look at the passage for this coming Sunday…. and low and behold, it’s this exact same story from the Gospel of Matthew.

There must be something in the water.

The verse I cite above is Jesus’ answer to a trick question, asked him by the Pharisees. (Matthew makes it clear it’s a trick question…) The question was:

“Is it lawful (under religious law) to pay taxes to the Emperor?”

It’s not just the Pharisees standing there at the time. There are also so-called “Herodians,” who supported the Roman Empire. It’s a kind of “gotcha question” designed to cause at least one portion of the Jewish leaders to turn against him.

If he says “Yes, it’s lawful to pay taxes,” the more religiously pure Pharisees will feel he’s violated Jewish religious practice.

If he says “No, it’s unlawful to pay taxes,” the Roman-Supporting Herodian Jews will jump on him for being anti-government.

It’s a no-win situation.

So, Jesus gives an answer that —at one and the same time— is complete, subtle, and brilliant.

Jesus says:

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Ever since the time of Jesus, Christians have debated whether or not to engage the government and civil authority. Some Christians believe it’s important for us to be *totally separate* from them. Others believe it’s important to *engage* with our faith in the public sphere.

Jesus’ answer —give the Emperor the Emperor’s, and give God’s to God— is a trick answer. Because Jesus fully understands that ALL THINGS come from God. All things in life and death are part of the good creation that begins and ends with God. Therefore, in a strict theological sense…all things belong to God.

However, the coin in his hand has the image of Caesar on it. And Jesus says “Give to the Emperor what is the Emperor’s.” But! Do so, knowing full well that ALL THINGS, ultimately, are God’s.

This answer makes it plain that Christians are invited to participate in the political realm, while always understanding that, ultimately, all things are God’s. We are not called to *control* the political process, nor overtake it. But we are not called to ignore it either. Somewhere in between…that’s where our calling lies.

As your pastor, I certainly hope you will be voting in the election this year. Our Social Justice Task Force stands ready to assist you, should you need a ride to the polls. They are willing to take members and friends of KPUMC to vote…or to drop off a mail-in ballot. They have a plan to do this safely, maintaining appropriate COVID protocols to keep everyone safe.

All this to say: If you need help getting to/from voting….don’t hesitate to call us at the Church, and we’ll assist you.

Early voting runs through October 30th, and Election Day is November 3rd. Kessler Park is a polling place on Election Day. Please pray for poll workers everywhere during the season of this especially tense election.

Many people just want to leave politics and social issues behind, and not talk about such “earthly” things at Church. But Jesus makes it clear in this passage, that our faith will always have connection to the political processes of the world.

Please engage your faith in Jesus, and your understanding of your faith, as you cast your ballot this year.

Also notice: I am not telling you HOW to do that, or WHOM to vote for….only that participating is deeply important.

And God bless us all, and our nation, in this season of voting.

Grace and Peace,

Eric Folkerth

PS: If you want to read the story from Austin, click HERE.

And! Our own Brett Shipp has a powerful new story up about Texas’ political divisions. I was honored that he interviewed me as a part of it. He did a beautiful job, and you can watch that HERE.

Outdoor Worship

by Rev. Eric Folkerth

The day after our Bishop sent us a letter saying Kessler Park UMC could officially reopen for worship, I had the following dream…

I dreamed it was the morning that worship was to resume. I chose to get to the church very early — hours and hours before worship was to begin. (It might have still been dark…)

But when I opened the sanctuary door the lights were on and there were 250-300 people already sitting in the pews, chatting away.

No social distance.

No masks.

Hugs, laughter, joy.

(BTW: all of these folks were nameless and faceless…no specific humans…)

I immediately freaked.

I thought to myself, “They’re not supposed to be here yet!”

“They’re not supposed to be INside…we agreed to be OUTSIDE!”

“Nobody’s wearing masks….they’re all gonna get sick!”

I knew it would fall to me to tell everyone to head out the “1215 door” and on to the lawn, and I knew they wouldn’t like it. So, I made the announcement over the din of the crowd, and stood just outside the door as folks filed back out.

One person would stop to say, “It’s too cold out here!”

The next, “It’s too hot out here!”

It was clear…nobody was happy.

You may not realize it, but this is the kind of “performance anxiety dream” that preachers have throughout their careers. This one was, obviously, quite specific to the year we are having.

Let’s start with the last thought: Nobody’s happy.

And that’s true. Nobody *really* wants to have to worship outdoors. Nobody wants to have to make the moral choice of whether or not to attend worship. Nobody wants to wear their mask, or download the bulletin onto their smartphone or tablet. Nobody wants the FOMO that comes from watching the livestream. Like in the dream, nobody wants to be where we are right now.

But I hope you can see our outdoor worship as a sign of HOPE. Whether or not *you* can be a part, it’s a sign of the hope for our church and our world. It’s like our “joys and concerns” prayers. Some weeks, some of us are up. Some weeks, some of us are down. But the *point* is that we are one community, through it all, whether we are in person or online.

So, we’ll continue to worship outside for as long as the weather’s good.

Bring your own lawn chair or blanket. Several members brought their dogs last Sunday, which I thought was wonderful. Why the heck not? Our outdoor worship will have a more casual “camp” feel to it…it cannot help but be so. So, let’s lean into it… Bring your blankets and “brunch” to eat, if you wish…why not?! (Just don’t share it with anyone…)

Bring your smartphone or tablet and download the bulletin/worship slides so you can follow along.

Or, continue to watch the livestream, and we promise to continue to provide a quality online option for worship every week. 

Outdoor worship is simply the “next step” in a year that has already been unusual in terms of worship.

The pandemic is pushing us to be *nimble* in how we respond and innovate our worship. That will continue into the future. Going forward, our worship will very likely always include more technology and the need to nimbly adapt and change “the way we’ve always done things.” And especially, as this pandemic continues, we continue to commit to “do no harm” in all that we do.

Finally, I hope you realize the following message that is very clear in that dream I had… 

Even when we are separated from you, your KPUMC staff thinks about you. We even DREAM about you.

Even when we cannot see you in person —or only see your eyes peeking back from behind your mask— we pray for you and hope that you are OK in this crazy time.

Whether you come to our in-person worship this Sunday, or whether you don’t return to Church for months to come, you matter to God…and you matter to us at Kessler Park Church.

God bless you all,

Eric