Join members of the Elon community to converse and engage in different expressions of religion and spirituality on Feb. 8, 15 and 18.
The Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life at Elon provides many opportunities for students and faculty to engage and practice their religious and spiritual beliefs in a community that promotes inclusivity. This year, the center is hosting its annual wInterfaith series to connect the campus community at large and discuss different the practices and values of different faith traditions.
“This year, the theme is intersections of faith and justice,” says Hillary Zaken, Interim Assistant Dean of Multifaith Engagement. “Each of our three panels is centered around a different topic related to this year’s theme.”
Since the greater goal of wInterfaith is to connect members of the Elon community, those who participate usually learn quite a lot about their peers or colleagues that they may not have known, which offers a chance for community members to form deeper connections.
“You don’t know the beliefs that people hold unless they share them with you. This is really a chance for education as well as community connection,” Zaken explains. “You learn something new, and you also learn something about a member of the community, which is part of our overall goal of multifaith understanding here at Elon.”
In previous years, wInterfaith has hosted individual speakers as well as panelists with the goal of coming together to discuss their identities and how they practice their faith on a daily basis. This year, there will be three panels on Feb. 8 in the McBride Gathering Space of the Numen Lumen Pavilion, Feb. 15 at the Elon Community Church, and Feb. 18 in McKinnon Hall in the Moseley Center. All panels will cover an array of topics including Spirituality and Land Justice, How Faith informs Social Action, and Reproductive Justice Across Faith Traditions. The panelists include students, with the third panel being a part of the student-led Ripple Conference, doctors and religious leaders.
The variety of conversation topics to be explored during these panels epitomizes exactly what the Elon community is known as: a Multifaith campus, Zaken says.
“The fact that we have students, faculty and staff members who hold different religious, spiritual and ethical identities is what makes Elon a multifaith campus. The work of the Truitt Center is to create those opportunities to engage” says Zaken.
The Truitt Center encourages people from all backgrounds and religious traditions to participate in this year’s wInterfaith panels. All those who attend are guaranteed to participate in meaningful conversations and to leave with an enriched perspective. Registration is required.