Numen Lumen: A Thursday Inspiration
Every Thursday from 9:50 to 10:20 am in Numen Lumen Pavilion Sacred Space (Numen Lumen Pavilion 110) you are invited to hear members of our Elon community share pieces of their stories, enjoy live music and artistic expression, and share in coffee and refreshments.
This year’s theme for Numen Lumen is “Transforming walls into windows.”
The people we connect with expand our perspectives. The places where our lives converge become landscapes for our stories, creating space for collective experiences. The stories we share open windows, illuminating our shared humanity.
Transforming walls into windows is how we create the world that we live in together.
So often, we surround ourselves with people who are like us, who hold shared identities, and whose worldviews and experiences affirm our own. Some differences are visible, others unseen. Uncovering the stories that lie below the surface requires us to affirm our shared humanity and be vulnerable. If we break down those walls of difference and open windows of respect and understanding, the world could be a very different place.
This year’s theme for Numen Lumen, “Transforming walls into windows,” gives speakers the opportunity to celebrate our differences and bridge our divides. We hope speakers reflect on everything from friendships that cross lines of difference, immersive experiences around the globe, intentional dialogue, and everything in between.
Ultimately, our hope for Numen Lumen this year is to strengthen our community by collectively creating a space where the stories that make us can be shared with courage and received with love. We’re grateful to our speakers for sharing the gift of their stories, their time, and their humanity.
For past Numen Lumen recordings, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Speakers and Musical Guests Fall 2024
August 29, 2024
Speaker: Dr. Carla Fullwood, Director of Inclusive Excellence Education and Development
Music: Shakinah Simeona-Lee, ’12
September 5, 2024
Speaker: Emerson Garon ’25
Music: Tal Fish ’09, Counselor/Referral Coordinator, Bonny Buckley ’01, Counselor, and Jen Westurn, Program Assistant for Counseling Services
September 12, 2024
Speaker: Rev. Julie Tonnesen ’14, Associate University Chaplain
Music: Rabbi Dr. Maor Greene, Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life
September 19, 2024
Speaker: Howard Chi MHE ’24, Short-term Programs Coordinator for the GEC
Music: Jocelyn Bogart ’27
September 26, 2024
Speaker: Hillary Zaken, Director of Multifaith Programming and Engagement
Music: Alli Brandon ’27
October 3, 2024
Rosh Hashanah, no Numen Lumen
October 10, 2024
Fall Break, no Numen Lumen
October 17, 2024
Speaker: Jasmine Walker ’25
Music: Cassidy Benullo ’27
October 24, 2024
Speaker: Bo Dalrymple ’25, Elon Votes Student Coordinator
Music: Bonny Buckley, Counselor with Counseling Services
October 31, 2024
Speaker: Megan Hernandez-Greene, Program Coordinator, GEC
Music: Melanated Melodies
November 7, 2024
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Kirstin Boswell, University Chaplain and Dean of Multifaith Engagement
Music: La’Tonya Wiley, Assistant Director of Affinity Alumni Engagement
November 14, 2024
Speaker: Clara Watkins ’25
Music: Hunter Siegel ’25
November 21, 2024
Speaker:
Music:
Past Numen Lumen Speakers
For our speakers:
When preparing for your Numen Lumen talk, speakers are encouraged to think about questions like:
- Who are the people who have changed or impacted your life in a particular way? How?
- When have you been in community with peers, colleagues, or friends who hold different identities and how has that impacted your life?
- When traveling, what connections across lines of difference have you made and how did that change you?
Have you engaged in dialogue across difference and how did that feel? What happened? - Have you sat in discomfort with opposing views and how did you overcome that? How do you show up when you disagree with someone?
- How have you changed thanks to engagement with someone different from you?
- What are the stories from your life that are yearning for a community to hear and to hold them?
We hope that these questions will be more of a place to begin brainstorming than a strict prompt to which speakers should adhere. While speakers should feel free to share stories and aspects of their lives authentically and freely, Rev. Julie Tonnesen, Associate University Chaplain, is also available to meet with speakers to brainstorm, answer questions, and support speakers as desired.