On November 11, 2017, Rev. Eric Folkerth received the Kuchling Humanitarian Award from the Black Tie Dinner, the largest annual fundraising event in the City of Dallas, with an audience of 3,000 guests. The following is the written text of his acceptance speech.

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I want to thank the Black Tie Dinner from the bottom of my heart for this incredible honor. I am so humbled to be receiving this award, which has previous been given to many folks I consider to be heroes and mentors. I want to acknowledge my family here tonight … my daughter, Maria, home from college...my Mother, Pat. I want to give a shout out to all the beautiful people of Northaven Church. I continue to be so honored, every day, to be your pastor. And a shout out to our OTHER congregation, Congregation Beth El Binah, who worship in our building. We are so honored to share space with you. That cooperation between our two congregations grew directly from our connections here at Black Tie Dinner.

And of course, my greatest thanks are to my own life partner and spouse … the woman you know as the Honorable Judge Dennise Garcia. I am so proud of her, and I hope you are too. She's been an ally and supporter of LGBTQ couples for more than 14 years in the courts, doing dozens of same-sex adoptions, and perhaps now hundreds of same sex-weddings.

Including, of course, the beautiful wedding of George Harris and Jack Evans, the first same-sex wedding in Dallas County, and possibly the first in Texas. That was such a beautiful day. I'll tell you what I loved most about that day. It was the way events unfolded, the courtroom was packed, not with random folks off the street, but with dozens of gay and lesbian couples who themselves would be getting married later that day.

As George and Jack shared their vows, the people who shared their joy were the next generation, dozens of younger couples who were the witnesses to the 54-year love of George and Jack. We could not have planned a more beautiful moment if we had tried.

Soon after this, the beautiful people of Northaven Church voted to host all legal weddings at our church. Sadly, as many of you know, this is against what some in our denomination say we should do. But, God bless them, the congregation voted by 98 percent to host all weddings for our membership, gay or straight. And as their pastor, it's been my great honor to help them live out that call.

This has not been without some controversy. There was a complaint filed against me, from someone outside the church, as you may have heard.And I want to give you a sign of hope tonight, and that's that despite the complaint, I was not defrocked or removed from ministry. And most importantly to me personally, in resolving the complaint, I did NOT agree to stop all weddings at Northaven. The way this complaint was resolved is indeed an encouraging sign.

Look, I know that some of you are done with the United Methodist Church. I have said for years that I cannot blame anyone who is done with us. Our denomination deserves any and all concern from members of the LGBTQ community. I just hope you can know that some of us stay and fight from the INSIDE, and we are fighting hard for you … for the full inclusion of all LGBTQ people in the church.

Two of my colleagues in local Reconciling Churches are here tonight at our table, Rev. Rachel Baughman from Oak Lawn UMC … some of you know the painful history at Oak Lawn. My friends, it's a new day there in that church. And the Rev. Kerry Sumpter-Smith from Greenland Hills UMC.

Friends, for years, Northaven was one of only two Reconciling and Welcoming Congregations in North Texas … now there are SEVEN Reconciling Churches in North Texas! Thank you for your patience with our denomination – a patience we do not deserve. If you pray, keep praying for the closed hearts around us. And we promise to keep standing up for you.

What a blessing for me to learn and be molded by the LGBTQ members and families of Northaven Church. They have taught Dennise and me so much about family, commitment, and love.

A story I love to tell is of our very first years at Northaven, when Maria, who is now in college, was four-years-old. We were leaving a party at Mary and Lisa's house. We had just arrived at Northaven a few months earlier. So, from her car seat in the back, on the way home, in the darkness, I heard Maria say to us, "Daddy … Mommy … Grace has two Mommy's." We thought this might be a teachable moment. So, we said, "Yes, that’s right, Sweetie. She does." Thinking about what might come next, there as a brief silence ... and then Maria exclaimed, "I want two Mommies!!!"

What a beautiful, funny moment that showed us that our children will lead us … these children of our gay and straight families at Northaven, and from YOUR families, they will change the world.

Dennise and I have learned so much about love, commitment, sacrifice and marriage from our LGBTQ members. And we at Northaven promise to keep seeking the intersectionality of all great causes of justice. If you don't know that term, you need to. It means that every struggle is connected to every other great struggle for justice. Black Lives Matter … the Latino/Latina Dreamers … the plight of Muslims … and the LGBTQ community … all these struggles are connected together.

There's a lot to stand up to these days. Friends, stand up and speak out … not only for yourselves, but stand up for all these others. When anyone is marginalized and OTHERIZED … every time that happens … all of us are diminished. We have a fantastic group of faithful religious leaders here in Dallas, and we have been busy going to marches and rallies and City Hall meetings these past months. If you haven't yet been active, join us.

Let me tell you a final story about your faith leaders here in Dallas. A few months back, there was a large rally at Dallas City Hall, called the "Rally Against White Supremacy.” It was a beautiful, peaceful rally. But near the end, a group of very radical left-leaning folks decided they would leave city hall and march over to Pioneer Park to confront supporters of the Confederacy. That had not been the plan for the day. We were planning a peaceful march, and some of us clergy worried that a violent confrontation might mar the entire event.

So I gathered about 20 faith leaders and we rushed to try and intercept those folks before there was a violent confrontation. My friend, and yours, Neil Cazares-Thomas, was among those. We were not able stop the angry mob from confronting the Confederate supporters. But what we clergy DID do was to stand there in the dark, and to divert other innocent bystanders AWAY from that danger … away from the potentially violent confrontation down the hill. Eventually, the other clergy left, and it was really just Neil and I standing there, talking with people walking toward that danger. Most of them were glad to be diverted away from the police dogs and horses, and the two angry sides down the hill.

Late into that night, Neil and I finally decided it was time to go, that we had been able to divert most of the innocent bystanders and that it was safe to go home. We gave each other a hug, and headed home to our own families. I tell you this story as a metaphor … a metaphor I hope you can know and believe to be true. There are many beautiful faith-leaders in Dallas who are committed to justice for YOU, and to justice for ALL.

The world is a dangerous place. But we promise to keep showing up for you, to keep standing up for you, and to divert you away from danger as best we can. And, most importantly of all, we promise not allow the forces of fear to silence our voices and stop our movement towards justice. Join us in the great causes of justice in our time … showing up makes a difference. God bless you all.