Your Invitation to METANOIA
May 7-8, 2025 | Washington, DC
Over 75 readers of this newsletter (and hundreds more) participated in the November 2023 NOVITATE experience in Washington, DC. It was one of the highlights of my year to meet so many of you in person during those two days.
So today I am particularly excited to announce that the Cluny Project—the successor to that conference, and the home of a new multidisciplinary initiative to reunite what has been fragmented and siloed, and to be a place for those fleeing the shadows and the shallows, who want to spend their short time on this earth building what is real—will be hosting its annual conference May 7-8 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The theme this year is METANOIA: The Foundations of Change.
Your invitation (please click play) is below.
Learn more about the Cluny Project, and secure your ticket to METANOIA here.
The theme of this year’s conference is metanoia, or conversion, in all of its forms—from Girardian ‘literary’ and artistic conversions, to spiritual and religious conversions, conversions of lifestyle, political conversions, and rites of passage as pathways to existential change. There are also cultural conversions of various kinds, which may or may not lead to discernible change on the surface. (In the words of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa: “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”) Silicon Valley and the technological development being driven there promises to change everything about our way of life. And celebrity conversions have been announced in droves these past two years. How do we know what is real and what is fake, what is temporary and what is enduring? Which changes are accidental, and which changes are substantial? These are questions worth asking.
An investigation into metanoia gets to the heart of it all. It cuts beneath to the surface. We can talk about the “vibe shift” all day long and engage in sociological analysis, but that alone will never yield real understanding. METANOIA is for those who have the courage to go deeper.
I invite you to join me and what will surely be a fantastic group of speakers, panelists, participants, and special guests to explore the essence of real transformation—in our society, and in ourselves. Exploring this question in the modern world, in light of current circumstances, feels more urgent than ever.
This is going to be a smaller, more intimate event than NOVITATE, with attendance capped at around 100. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Speakers, panelists, etc. will be announced in the coming months. The NOVITATE conference sold out of tickets before a single speaker was announced, and we expect something similar to happen this year. This approach helped contribute to a spirit of openness and led to many opportunities for unexpected and pleasant surprises. My promise to you is this: your trust will be rewarded.
You can secure your ticket today here.
One final note: we are looking for sponsors at any level for this event. Among others, we’re seeking an organization that would like to be the title sponsor for the opening reception at the Dupont Circle Hotel ($10,000). Even the smallest level of support goes a long way toward allowing us to make this a special experience. If this is something that you or your company might be interested in partnering with us on, please reach out to our team at events@cluny.org, or drop me a message here on Substack.
Thank you for your support—and I hope to see you in DC.
Out of the shadows and into the deep,
Luke
A special thank you to the John Templeton Foundation, The Catholic University of America, and the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship for making this event possible.