[ENCORE] Beyond the Hug: How Sara Cunningham Built a Movement of Radical Welcome

Description:It's Pride Month, and we couldn't think of a better time to bring back one of our most beloved episodes. Sara Cunningham — founder of Free Mom Hugs — first joined Jen back in 2018, when she was a Christian mom from Oklahoma City who had just started showing up at Pride parades with a handmade sign and a button. A lot has happened since then. What began as one mom extending her arms to strangers has grown into a global movement. Free Mom Hugs now trains advocates, lobbies legislatures, and shows up year after year for LGBTQIA+ people whose own families walked away. Sara hasn't just built an organization — she's built a lifeline. In this conversation, Sara and Jen revisit the journey that started it all: how Sara moved from the church to the Pride parade without losing her faith, what it meant for her son Parker to come out into a family still finding its footing, and how the stories of people who had lost everything — their families, their churches, their sense of belonging — fell into her arms and changed the course of her life. They also talk about what it takes to turn personal pain into structural change, and why showing up — physically, politically, and relationally — for the LGBTQIA+ community matters more than ever right now. This one is worth every minute. Enjoy this encore conversation with our beloved friend, Sara Cunningham! Thought-provoking Quotes: “No one has searched for God more than the Gay Christian.” – Sara Cunningham “The first drag show that I ever went to, when I crossed the threshold, I really thought lightning might strike. But, I realized these are beautiful people raising money for homeless LGBTQ youth. And I was so moved by that. I had it totally wrong. I believed a lie that kept me from some of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had in my life.” – Sara Cunningham “I remember there was a time, at the beginning of that journey, I call from the church to the pride parade. It was like reality was setting in. The bubble that I was in, the evangelical conservative mainstream bubble that I was in where everyone looked like me and talked like me, had just shattered. And I wanted to take a banner and put it outside of my house on the front door, like, welcome to the real world. And suddenly it's like my eyes are truly open.” - Sara Cunningham Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LGBTQIA MeCourse - https://shop.jenhatmaker.com/products/parenting-lgbtqia-teens-tweens Mama Bears - https://www.realmamabears.org/ FTL Episode ft. Sydney Hatmaker - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spring-back-series-living-proudly-with-sydney-hatmaker/id1258388821?i=1000523761007 Kai Shappley’s Website - https://kaishappley.com/ Free Mom Hugs Revolution Conference - https://freemomhugs.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&pageId=571 Kimberly Shappley’s Website - https://ourfaithintransition.com/ Glennon Doyle’s Website - https://momastery.com/ How We Sleep at Night: A Mother’s Memoir by Sara Cunningham - https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Sleep-At-Night/dp/1499725388 Good Friend with Jamie Lee Curtis ft Sara Cunningham - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/sara-cunningham/id1573809537?i=1000556513469 HRC Oklahoma - https://www.hrc.org/news/p3?state=oklahoma ACLU Oklahoma - https://www.acluok.org/ Freedom Oklahoma - https://www.freedomoklahoma.org/ Guest’s Links: Website - https://freemomhugs.org/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/freemomhugs/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/freemomhugs Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/freemomhugsinc Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5BP-GtZ7HFPUu3PpTQMOGw Connect with Jen!Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmakerJen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmakerJen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.