Everyone is wondering or asking “When will the church be open again?” My favorite answer is that Pantano Christian Church never closed! We’ve been the church throughout this whole pandemic. 

We’ve offered outstanding online worship and teaching services to all ages. We’ve called almost every family in our church. We’ve made and delivered over 3,000 cards and 800 care packages to health care workers in our city. We’ve delivered 9 trailers full of food and supplies to the Gospel Rescue Mission and the Department of Child Safety. We’ve served over 3,000 kid’s meals from our parking lot. We’ve made and delivered over 2,000 masks. We’ve served meals and provided free child care for TMC and St. Joseph’s hospitals. We’ve had over 165 folks serve various non-profits. We have been open and we’ve been the church all along. Thank you, Pantano. Your generosity has made all this possible.

But, the question you are wondering is when will we resume physical meetings on our campuses? We have a phased plan that attempts to balance both protecting the health of our congregation and allowing for the freedom to participate in public worship. The stay-at-home order and physical isolation have created a hunger for many of us to connect with those of like faith. We will attempt to do our best to mitigate the spread of the virus while reasonably allowing for worship, teaching, and discipleship. We are trying to follow what the Bible teaches about love… “it always protects” (1 Corinthians 13:7).

Here is our phased plan to resume using our physical campuses: 

Phase 1: Office Open and Groups can meet – Now

Right now, our offices are open. Small groups can physically meet in homes or at the East Campus if they feel comfortable. We also encourage small groups to meet for Sunday services together like a “watch party” or as a home worship group. We’ll continue to provide quality online services. 

Phase 2: Worship will resume at our East Campus – June 7

Adult worship will resume in our East Campus auditorium on Sunday, June 7 at 9 am, 11 am, and 1 pm. To allow for physical distancing, both courts will be fully extended so people can spread out. We’ll block every other row and provide a “touchless” experience (you’ll grab your prepackaged communion on the way in, no hand-outs, doors propped open, no cafe, etc.). Engaging online is still encouraged! If you are sick or have medical issues, please continue to stay at home until you are well or feel safe to return. Children are welcome to join their parents for the adult service, however, we will not be providing busy boxes at this time.

Phase 3 & 4: Students Services Resumes – June 21 & Kids Sunday Classes – July 5

High school and middle school students will meet in the Student Union starting June 21 at 9 am and 11 am. Kids Sunday services will begin July 5.

Phase 5: The Cafe Will Open – TBD

Phase 6: Resume Services at our Southeast Campus – TBD

We are awaiting word from the Vail School District about when our Southeast Campus will be able to meet at Empire High School. Until then, anyone from the Southeast Campus is encouraged to attend the East Campus or worship online, and groups can consider doing “church at home” together. 

Let’s Work Together to Stay Healthy

We are asking everyone to follow the familiar drill and CDC guidelines, including but not limited to:

• Stay home if you are sick or caring for someone who’s sick, or have a higher risk of medical complications.
• Wash your hands often and use hand sanitizer provided around our campus.
• Practice 6-foot physical distancing.  
• Respect the health concerns of others. For this season, we are asking that people avoid handshakes and hugs at this time. Face masks are not required, but we fully support those who want or need to wear masks. Let’s accept and not judge each other on these matters.

For our part, we’ll do our very best to sanitize areas likely to be touched before and after every service or event and we will also be sanitizing our HVAC system. For more details and updates, be sure to check our Pantano Updates on our website at https://pantano.church/updates/

We want to love people to Jesus, so our staff and volunteers will wear masks, we’ll observe the 6-foot rule, wipe down surfaces, and go the extra mile to make sure people experience the love of God. That’s the Pantano way. 

Glen ElliottSubscribe: https://pantano.church/blogsubscription

Everything in our physical world can be shaken. Nothing is stable. Our health can deteriorate – virus or no virus. Our bank accounts and the stock market are never stable. Our jobs are never secure. Even relationships change… sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse. We live in a world that not only can be shaken; it will be shaken. Who would have guessed in January that our world would be so shaken by a new virus pandemic? 

This week, I was reading Hebrews chapter 10 for a message I’m teaching this Sunday. I kept reading and came to chapter 12. The writer of Hebrews 12:18-29 reminds us of the time that God descended on Mt. Sinai in the desert. It was there that God gave the law to Moses. There were flashes of lightning and peals of thunder. A dark cloud hovered above. The whole mountain shook and it caused everyone to be terrified. 

Mt. Sinai is a real place, but it is also a symbol. It’s a metaphor for the law. The law reminds us of our guilt, sin, and punishment. It is a mountain of doom. It helps us realize how much we long for a different mountain.

The writer then contrasts Mt. Sinai with another mountain that he calls Mt. Zion (vs. 22). This is a mountain of joy. This mountain is a symbol of the grace God has given us in Jesus. In Jesus, we have the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of an eternity with God. It too is a metaphor about something much bigger. It represents the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is anywhere God has influence! You and I are a part of this kingdom as long as we allow God to be the primary influence in our life.

God will shake the earth once more. At the end of time, he will remove all that is temporary, impermanent, and passing and create a new heaven and new earth. God will forever establish eternity that will never be shaken. It is an unshakeable life where our well being and very life will be permanent, lasting, and secure.

I love how chapter 12 ends in Hebrews 12:28-29 (The Message) – Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

In this life that’s shakeable, God is “cleaning house.” In this season of unprecedented disruption, God wants to refine us and remove the “junk” that hurts us, others, and our relationship with God. Our God is a consuming fire who wants to eliminate all the useless things that need to be burned away. Yet, we are not afraid, because we belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken. That causes us to overflow with thanksgiving in the midst of an unstable world. We are in awe of a God who is not an “indifferent bystander,” but who is working all things for good for those who love and trust him.

Glen Elliott

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