Last Updated on May 4, 2023 by Kittredge Cherry
Q Spirit founder Kittredge Cherry and her spouse Audrey Lockwood are celebrating 36 years since their same-sex church wedding in 1987. They invite you to view their classic photos and new portrait, listen to the song about them as a “Beautiful Couple,” and make a donation to their favorite cause: Kitt’s Q Spirit blog.
They hope that people will each give $36 — a dollar for each year of their anniversary. Gifts of any amount are welcome. You can contribute now by clicking the “donate” button below or visiting their GoFundMe page.
For their 35th anniversary, they are sharing their joy online in two exciting new ways: First, a new portrait of them by Jeremy Whitner premieres at the top of this post. In addition, they are sharing artistic envelopes from their 1970s love letters online for the first time in a major new blog article.
They were joined in a sacramental Holy Union ceremony (pictured above) on April 11, 1987 at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco. Both were 29 years old. At the time there was no legal recognition for same-sex marriage or even for domestic partnerships. Pollsters were not asking about marriage equality yet. It took another 29 years for the law to catch up with their ground-breaking lesbian love.
After decades of activism for LGBTQ rights and marriage equality, Kitt and Audrey were finally able to marry legally on May 4, 2016 in a private civil ceremony at the Beverly Hills Courthouse.
Kittredge Cherry raises her hands in joy when the deputy makes the legal pronouncement that she and Audrey Lockwood are “spouses for life” on May 4, 2016 in the Beverly Hills Courthouse. Photo by Rodney Hoffman.
Kitt’s passion and personal journey as a lesbian Christian also led her to create Q Spirit. The website promotes LGBTQ spirituality and fosters religious and artistic freedom by teaching love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. She depends on donations to make her blog and newsletter available to all for free. Readers praise Q Spirit as inspiring, informative and “always fabulous.”
Holy Union: 1987 wedding photos
Enjoy photos from their 1987 wedding with comments by Kittredge Cherry. Photos by Lisa Wigoda.
We walked each other down the aisle in true egalitarian fashion. The music we chose was from “The Love for Three Oranges” by Prokofiev.
“Those whom God has joined together, let no one — let no church, let no state, let no one put asunder.” I’ll never forget how the pastor said those words with passion when he pronounced us united in Holy Union.
A packed church applauded after we were married!
Heartfelt hugs all around in the reception line.
Audrey wanted a chocolate cake and I wanted a white cake — so we had both! The gay men at our church said hers fit the tradition of “groom’s cake.” But the linked women’s signs definitely disrupt the tradition to affirm lesbian love.
Our white wedding cake had two rainbow flags. Church hospitality coordinator Carl created wonderful wedding cakes for us — and then warned us, “I’m only doing this for you once!”
Audrey has her usual determination as we cut our wedding cake.
We showed our love by feeding each other wedding cake.
We are headed for our honeymoon and a lifetime of happiness together!
Their original certificate of Holy Union states, “This is to certify that Kittredge Cherry and Audrey Lockwood were joined together in the Rite of Holy Union according to the Scriptural practice of the church of Jesus, the Christ on the 11th day of April, 1987 at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco.”
We cherish the needlepoint that we received as a wedding gift from Michalea: “United in love April 11, 1987: Our hearts, our souls, our love forever.”
Song celebrates “Beautiful Couple”
Canadian singer-songwriter Jamie Anderson was so inspired by Kitt and Audrey that she wrote a song about them called “Beautiful Couple” in 2018. The ballad recounts the unexpected affirmation that they received as a lesbian couple when they adopted a dog from a rescue organization.
Anderson herself sings “Beautiful Couple” in a music video. Favorite lines include:
…Now there’s our picture on the rescue site
It said “Nina is home with this beautiful couple tonight.”“Beautiful couple” caught me off guard
We’ve been called many things, some ugly and hard
Our love kept us strong in spite of the scars
It was those simple words that broke open my heartOh the miracles that came that day
One with four legs to our home to stay…
A dog rescue website called Kitt and Audrey a “beautiful couple” when they posted this photo of them adopting their new companion at Dog Cafe Los Angeles.
Anderson has 10 albums, including “Dare.” She has toured widely, singing her original songs in hundreds of venues in four countries, including 47 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Her humorous memoir “Drive All Night” describes her life on the road as a traveling lesbian folk singer in the women’s music movement.
New portrait of Kitt and Audrey painted in 2022
Their happiness also shows in the 2022 portrait of Kitt and Audrey, painted for their 35th anniversary by North Carolina artist Jeremy Whitner. It appears at the top of this post. He paints the couple laughing together, joined by a rainbow scarf wrapped around their shoulders in “Rev. Kittredge Cherry and Her Wife Audrey.” The portrait is available as prints from Fine Art America and on mugs and other products at Pixels Merch.
Kitt surprised Audrey on their 35th anniversary by giving her a coffee mug and print with their portrait by Jeremy Whitner. This and other icons by Whitner are available as mugs, shirts, prints and much more from his shop at Pixels Merch.
A Kitt-and-Audrey mug sits beside a mug with Perpetua and Felicity, patron saints of same-sex couples.
Whitner is a queer Christian iconographer in process for ministry with the Disciples of Christ. He attends Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte. His icons appear frequently on Q Spirt.
Iconic photos show Kitt and Audrey
During their decades together Kitt and Audrey advocated for marriage equality in many ways. As a clergywoman Kitt also performed Holy Union ceremonies for other same-sex couples. They made their love into a reality recognized by society.
Kittredge Cherry and Audrey Lockwood protested for Marriage Equality at Los Angeles City Hall in 2013
Like many same-sex couples, Kitt and Audrey have multiple anniversaries: The day they met on Labor Day weekend in 1975 at Burge dormitory, the freshman dorm where they both lived the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The day of their church wedding in 1987. And the day their marriage became legal in 2016.
Kitt and Audrey posed together in a photo booth soon after they met in 1975
Kitt and Audrey drew Luna Moths and other creatures on the envelopes of their love letters from 1975-77.
Kitt and Audrey are sharing their love-letter postal art from the 1970s online in the Q Spirit article Lesbian couple reveals love-letter postal art from 1970s: Q Spirit founder and spouse share artistic envelopes. The lesbian couple sent the 40 artistic envelopes in 1975-77, when they were 18 to 20 years old. They saved the letters for more than 45 years. “We are sharing the envelopes from our love letters now to inspire others and preserve our legacy,” Kitt said.
They gave many news media interviews in the 1980s, when few other gay or lesbian couples were willing to go public about their relationships. For example, Kitt and Audrey were interviewed for the 1989 Los Angeles Times article, “Marriage Between Homosexuals Is Nothing New for Some in S.F.” Kitt said words that still ring true: “I don’t think we need the state to tell us our marriage is real. I think our marriage is just as real now as if it were legally recognized.”
Kitt and Audrey appeared in the Los Angeles Times article “Marriage Between Homosexuals Is Nothing New for Some in S.F.” on March 26, 1989
The iconic photo of their 1987 Holy Union ceremony has suddenly gotten a lot of attention. It was reprinted in the 2018 scholarly book “Devotions and Desires: Histories of Sexuality and Religion in the Twentieth-Century United States” from University of North Carolina Press. It also appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of “Catalyst: The Magazine of Pacific School of Religion” to illustrate Kitt’s article on “Sacred Resistance.”
Kitt and Audrey’s 1987 “Holy Union” wedding photo appears in Catalyst magazine and the book “Devotions and Desires“
Kittredge Cherry with her spouse Audrey Lockwood at her ordination at the Metropolitan Community Churches General Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, in July 1993.
Kitt and Audrey on their anniversary in 2011.
Kitt and Audrey both dressed in aqua with vests for Kitt’s birthday in 2015, yet each one’s unique style still showed.
Kitt and Audrey shared a rainbow scarf to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month in 2020.
Kittredge Cherry and Audrey Lockwood with Nina in 2021.
We thank everyone who supported us with your gifts and good wishes! (Photo by Craig Cherry)
More photos
More photos can be viewed at:
1987 wedding photo album on Facebook
Kitt and Audrey together, 1975 to present, photo album on Facebook
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Top image credits:
“Rev. Kittredge Cherry and Her Wife Audrey” by Jeremy Whitner. The portrait is available as prints from Fine Art America and on mugs and other products at Pixels Merch.
Kittredge Cherry and Audrey Lockwood were united in a “Holy Union” wedding on April 11, 1987 at Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco — long before marriage equality became law. Pastor Jim Mitulski officiated. (Photo by Lisa Wigoda.)
This article was originally published on Q Spirit in May 2018, was expanded with new material over time, and was most recently updated on May 1, 2023.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.
BRAVA both of you!!
Congratulations to a wonderful couple!
Congratulations Kit and Audrey! Thanks for sharing your journey of love.
This is really beautiful, Kitt! Your history makes me proud.