A special ceremony will mark the start of construction on the new multi-faith center in the Academic Village.
In dedicating the site for the Numen Lumen Pavilion, members of the Elon community will gather for reflections from a variety of faith traditions. All students, faculty and staff are invited to the site dedication at:
1 p.m., Friday, Oct. 21, at the north end of the Academic Village.
The Numen Lumen Pavilion will be an attractive, welcoming place for prayer, meditation and reflection in the heart of campus. Affirming the university’s commitment to the development of mind, body and spirit and respect for differing religious and spiritual traditions, this multi-faith center will encourage campus dialogue and promote interfaith collaboration.
The two-story building will feature a circular sacred space adjoined by a multipurpose room, a meditation room, a classroom, meeting and study rooms, and offices of the Vera Richardson Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, which will relocate to the Numen Lumen Pavilion from its current location on East College Avenue. An outdoor meditation garden will be located between the Numen Lumen Pavilion and the Gray Pavilion.
Wood from trees that stood on the construction site will be used for some of the building’s interior furnishings such as a small chapel altar or wall paneling.
Construction on the Numen Lumen Pavilion will begin in November, with completion projected for December 2012.
The Numen Lumen Pavilion will be the final building in Elon’s Academic Village, taking the spot on the west side of the quad next to the Gray Pavilion. Construction on the Academic Village began in 2001, with the first two pavilions, the Isabella Cannon International Studies Pavilion and the William R. Kenan Jr. Honors Pavilion opening in August 2002.