“When I was eleven years old, I gave my life to Jesus.  I have no reason to think that he ever gave it back.”

Thus begins The Thousand-Petaled Lotus: Growing Up Gay in the Southern Baptist Church, Michael Fields’ hilarious and profound recollection of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, a/k/a The Protestant Vatican.  What does a devout young Baptist do when he finally realizes that the gay cannot be prayed away?  Michael left the church behind, only to find that leaving his religion was just the first step on a lifelong search for what Jesus called “the Kingdom of Heaven,” a search that would end many years later in a New York City gym. The Thousand-Petaled Lotus is a classic gay coming-of-age story, told from a decidedly un-classic point of view, a spiritual journey that begins on the first day of creation, and ends with the discovery that the kingdom of heaven is, indeed, “spread out on the earth, but men see it not.”

Reception at 7:00, Readings at 7:30 p.m.

Michael will read selections from his book and invite questions and discussion.

Michael Fields was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. His early life and struggles with God and everybody else are chronicled in his moving and piquant memoir, The Thousand-Petaled Lotus: Growing Up Gay in the Southern Baptist Church. Michael is a graduate of Columbia University and earned his master’s degree in social work at Fordham. These days, he works as a program director for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Michael lives in New York City with his partner, now husband, of thirty-five years.