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.”
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.
The people we connect with shape our experiences. The places where our stories and our lives intersect are full of impact when we share the journey. The stories we tell about the people who listened and who inspired us are powerful.
Transforming walls into windows is how we create the world that we live in together.
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
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September 5, 2024
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September 12, 2024
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September 19, 2024
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September 26, 2024
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October 12, 2024
Fall Break, no Numen Lumen
October 17, 2024
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October 24, 2024
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October 31, 2024
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November 7, 2024
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November 14, 2024
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November 21, 2024
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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.