The theme this year for Numen Lumen, an important Elon tradition, is ‘Turning Walls into Windows.’
Each week during the academic year, members of the university community gather for an important tradition, Numen Lumen: A Thursday Inspiration. Numen Lumen is a weekly gathering for all members of the Elon community. This sacred time allows people to reflect, share stories, build connections and listen.
“We are hopeful to be able to create a space for people to talk about some of these hard and uncomfortable things, but hopefully to inspire others to think about how they engage difference in their own lives as well,” said Associate University Chaplain Rev. Julie Tonnesen.
Numen Lumen is held each Thursday in the Sacred Space in Numen Lumen Pavilion. This time is for people to gather in a sacred place, listen to various speakers and, musical performers and spend time together as a community.
Elon is built on tradition, and Numen Lumen tradition is rooted in time that was previously set aside for college chapel at Elon. Over time, it has become a cherished gathering for religious and spiritual conversations and a time to embrace creative talents of members of the community.
“I think my ultimate hope for what Numen Lumen will mean for students is not necessarily that it means the same thing to all students, but that it is accessible to all students and that they can come and create their own meeting from it, whatever that looks like,” said Tonnesen.
Each year, Numen Lumen is grounded in a theme and, this year, the focus is on “turning walls into windows.” Picking a theme for Numen Lumen is done with intention. For the 2023-24 academic year, the theme was “meaningful relationships matter.” Relationships are especially important at Elon, where there is a focus on supporting mentoring relationships and other connections within the university community. The theme for this year, provides space to engage in learning and conversation around difference and division. Tonnesen said the goal is to, “hopefully inspire folks to think about what it means to live with difference and division and how to create relationships because of it.” What we learn from difference and division and what we do with what we learn is important said Tonnesen.
The Turning Walls into Windows theme gives people the opportunity to talk about difference and division that is present in our lives and those around us. It is an invitation to discuss ways to see outside of division and turn that into a window by taking time to observe and reflect.
Numen Lumen is intentional in timing as well as location. The Sacred Space provides a location that welcomes people of all religious backgrounds and the time for Numen Lumen is blocked off on Thursday mornings from 9:40 to 10:20 a.m. during a period that is between classes so all can attend.
“It is an Elon tradition. I would love it if every single person in the Elon community stopped what they were doing to listen to stories on a Thursday morning,” said Tonnesen.