Hatmaker went on to write that her “arms were never empty,” noting many ran toward her and others from her congregation and told them things like, “I miss this,” “My mom doesn’t love me anymore,” “My dad hasn’t spoken to me in three years,” and, “Please just one more hug.”
(Tré Goins-Phillips – Faith Wire) Well-known Christian author Jen Hatmaker drew attention over the weekend when she and members of her church attended an LGBT pride parade in Austin, Texas, to offer “free mom hugs” to fellow demonstrators.
Hatmaker, who faced backlash in 2016 when she departed from traditional Christian teachings and declared same-sex marriage to be “holy,” shared about the outreach event in an emotional Instagram post.
“My beloved little church went downtown to the [Austin Pride Parade] and gave out free mom hugs, free dad hugs, free grana hugs, and free pastor hugs like it was our paying jobs,” she wrote.