The stories of local Alamance County faith leaders will be on display during the fall 2024 semester in the Numen Lumen Pavilion.
A new exhibition in the Numen Lumen Pavilion, Faces of Alamance County StoryWalk: Stories of Faith and Belonging, is a partnership between the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and the Power + Place Collaborative to showcase the voices and stories of religiously and spiritually diverse Alamance County community members.
The multifaith exhibition showcases the voices of ten residents of Alamance County, including faith leaders in local churches, the Burlington Masjid and spirituality collectives.
“The Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life is committed to engaging the campus community with the rich diversity of the world’s religious, spiritual and ethical traditions,” said University Chaplain and Dean of Multifaith Engagement Rev. Dr. Kristin C. Boswell. “Each of the diverse leaders showcased in this exhibition offers a unique reflection on the connection between religion and community — a connection that lies at the heart of our mission as well.”
The Power + Place Collaborative is a partnership between Elon University, the Mayco Bigelow Community Center in Burlington and the Alamance County African American Cultural Arts and History Center. The initiative aims to collect and share stories that foster dialogue and bridge divides within the community. The stories shown in the StoryWalk exhibitions across the county were gathered by Elon students in collaboration with community partners since 2018.
Hasan Khan ’26, spent time reading the story panels in the Numen Lumen Pavilion on Monday afternoon on the way to his campus job: “There are so many different stories from people who are all walking the same path, but in different shoes,” said Khan. “There is so much knowledge to be gained from each story, and it’s also fascinating how you can also step back and see the connections between them.”
This year’s theme, “Stories of Faith and Community,” developed in collaboration with NC Humanities, focuses on faith, migration, movement, place-making and community-building for the North Carolina Reads book club program. The program aims to raise public awareness of the challenges and opportunities faced by diverse groups while fostering dialogue and understanding across racial, religious, cultural, linguistic, geographic and generational differences.
The Collaborative is also offering additional upcoming community events on the same theme: