Who We Are
Open Door Collective is an emerging contemplative community and spiritual resource organization rooted in Middle Tennessee. We’re on a mission to make contemplative practices accessible to modern spiritual seekers, because we believe these practices inspire the kind of loving action that will change the world. There is freedom, purpose, and belonging found in the contemplative life!
“There is a deep relationship between the inner revolution of prayer and the transformation of social structures and social consciousness. Our hope lies in the fact that meditation is going to change the society that we live in, just as it has changed us.”
– FATHER RICHARD ROHR
founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation
The collective was started by the Revs. Shelby Slowey and Allison Gossett, both ordained pastors in the United Methodist Church. After years of serving the local church together, Shelby and Allison each began to experience contemplative practice as a way of connecting with God in deep and meaningful ways, which led to radical lifestyle changes for them both. Knowing the impact contemplation has had on their own lives, they feel compelled to make these ancient practices more accessible to modern spiritual seekers.
Meet Shelby
Shelby is a mother, pastor, writer, speaker, and modern contemplative. She’s passionate about equipping friends and neighbors to cultivate thriving communities right where they live. A graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School, she served in local churches for over 20 years before discerning a call to plant and nurture Open Door Collective. Shelby is a trained spiritual director, and finds joy in companioning people on their spiritual journeys. She is a novice gardener and beginner foraging enthusiast, but her true loves are creative writing and finding new ways to practice making art. The Slowey family enjoys hiking the many great trails in Tennessee, stomping in a good creek, and hosting people in their home. More than anything, Shelby strives to be a good neighbor, and to provide hospitality for the heart, mind, and spirit of all whom she encounters.
Meet Allison
Bio and photo coming soon…
Our Values
Creativity - joyfully embracing our creative identity as creatures of the Great Creator
Relationality - providing hospitality in pursuit of reciprocity and belonging
Authenticity - showing up in truth and cultivating a generous awareness
Vulnerability - willing to risk emotional exposure in order to be authentically known
Expectation - a radical hope and belief in God’s loving and just action in the world
Justice - pursuing actions that relieve pain and suffering and establish equity and inclusion