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 Spring 2025
January 30, 2025
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Jan Fuller, Elon University Chaplain Emeritix
Music: Anthony Hotakainen ’26
February 6, 2025
Speaker: Hunter Siegel ’25
Music: Jocelyn Bogart ’27
February 13, 2025
Speaker: Rabbi Dr. Geoff Claussen, Professor of Religious Studies, Lori and Eric Sklut Professor in Jewish Studies, Religious Studies Department Chair
Music: Imam Shane Atkinson, Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life & Adam Atkinson ’28
February 20, 2025
Weather Delay, no Numen Lumen
February 27, 2025
Speaker: Abdul-Malik Harrison, Assistant Director of the CREDE
Music: Melanated Melodies
March 6, 2025
Elon Day, no Numen Lumen
March 13, 2025
Speaker: Betsy Schlehuber ’25
Music: Grey Gaul ’26
March 20, 2025
Spring Break, no Numen Lumen
March 27, 2025
Reflections from the GLC community and staff
April 3, 2025
Speaker: Morgan Williams ’25
Music: Elon Gospel Choir
April 10, 2025
Speaker: Ahron Frankel ’26 and Rev. Julie Tonnesen, Associate University Chaplain
Music: Kenzie Ross ’27
April 17, 2025
Speaker: Kiara Cronin ’25
Music: CCM Music Intern
April 24, 2025
Yom Ha’Shoah: Ceremony of Remembrance
May 1, 2025
Speaker: Ryan Gibbons ’25
Music: Hunter Siegel ’25
May 8, 2025
Speaker: Alan Buck, Adjunct Instructor in Media Analytics
Music: Ginny Whittaker Saxophone Quartet
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.