'Stand-In' Mom
Sara Cunningham holds many titles. She is an officiant of same-sex weddings and an optimist, but most importantly, a mother. In fact, Cunningham posted to her Facebook page in July that she would be willing to stand in for the biological mothers who refused to attend their children’s same-sex wedding. She tells the LGBTQ+ community in her Facebook announcement that if they “need a mom to attend” their wedding because their own mothers will not, to call her, and she’ll “be [their] biggest fan.”
It turns out that an overwhelming amount of people needed stand-in parents to appear at their weddings and graduations, and Cunningham spurred a domino effect of mothers and fathers across the country volunteering to show up to the ceremonies. What was originally a post allowing Cunningham to vent her frustrations about the parents of same-sex couples who do not acknowledge their relationships went viral. Some of the couples whose weddings that she had originally planned to officiate now wanted Cunningham to represent their mothers. One of these couples was Tabatha Cash and Marlee Castillo, who said their vows on November 3rd with Cunningham acting as Cash’s mother. This caught the attention of actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who sent Cunningham flowers, which she gave to Cash and Castillo, whose wedding day was filled with smiles and joy.
However, becoming an ally of the LGBTQ+ community has been a long journey for Cunningham, as she and her family grappled with her son’s identity as a gay man for years. After accepting him, Cunningham was determined to aid parents on the very same journey, so she founded Free Mom Hugs, a non-profit organization that provides support and educational services to the loved ones of the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, Cunningham published her memoir How We Sleep At Night in 2014, which documents the evolution of her relationship with her son. In addition to touching lives, all of her efforts to support the LGBTQ+ community bring joy to Cunningham beyond measure, as she “experience[s] God and humanity to a much greater degree than [she] ever thought possible.”
By Rose Sanders