The Covenant Renewal Service, or simply called the Covenant Service, was adapted by

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

, the founder of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, for the purpose of the renewal of the Christian believer's covenant with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. Wesley's ''Directions for Renewing Our Covenant with God'', first published in 1780, contains his instructions for a covenant service adapted from the writings of Richard Alleine and intended for use in Methodist worship as "a means of increasing serious religion." The first such service was held on 11 August 1755, in London. Congregations of some Methodist connexions (notably in the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

Free Methodist Church The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is Evangelicalism, evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Met ...

and

Pilgrim Holiness Church Pilgrim Holiness Church (PHC) or International Apostolic Holiness Church (IAHC) is a Christian denomination associated with the holiness movement that split from the Methodist Episcopal Church through the efforts of Martin Wells Knapp in 1897. It ...

in the United States) often use the Covenant Renewal liturgy for the watchnight service of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. In the

Methodist Church in Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council. Methodism traces its origins to the evangelical revival le ...

the custom is for the service to be held on the first Sunday of the New Year when a

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros'', which means elder or senior, although many in Christian antiquity understood ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer ...

is available (since the Covenant service order includes

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

, which according to British Methodist discipline cannot normally be presided over by a local preacher). In both cases the purpose is to renew one's commitment to

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

and the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

at the start of the year. It includes hymns, prayers, Scripture lessons, a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

, and Holy Communion. The covenant prayer and service are recognised as one of the most distinctive contributions of Methodism to the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

of Protestantism in general, and they are also used from time to time by other Christian denominations.

Origins

In 1663 Richard Alleine, a

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

, published ''Vindiciae Pietatis: or, A Vindication of Godliness in the Greater Strictness and Spirituality of It''. In 1753, it was again published in

's ''A Christian Library''. In his ''Short history of the people called Methodists'', Wesley describes the first covenant service; a similar account is to be found in his ''Journal'' of the time. He says the first service was held on Monday 11 August 1755, at the French church at

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

in London, with 1800 people present. Wesley reports that he "recited the tenor of the covenant proposed, in the words of that blessed man, Richard Alleine". The original words are lost, but are thought to be reflected in the ''Directions for Renewing our Covenant with God'' in 1780. This later text, known in modified form as the Wesley Covenant Prayer, remained in use—linked with Holy Communion and observed on the first Sunday of the New Year—among British Methodists until 1936. The origins of the covenant prayer have been the subject of some scholarly discussion. While Wesley attributes its "tenor" to Alleine, influences of German

Pietism Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christianity, Christian life. Although the movement is ali ...

have also been claimed.

Modern usage

Services using the covenant prayer have been included in most Methodist books of liturgy since, though none was included in '' The Sunday Service of the Methodists; With Other Occasional Services'' book that Wesley published in 1784 for the use of his followers in

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Perhaps for this reason, while the Covenant service has been an invariable part of the liturgy of the

British Methodist Church The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestantism, Protestant List of Christian denominations, Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodism, Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council. M ...

and its daughter churches in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

, its use is less widespread in American Methodist denominations. Referring to the

, Charles R. Hohenstein notes that "covenant services are seldom encountered these days", though theologian Leonard Sweet notes that certain Methodist connexions such as the

and

have maintained the tradition of covenant renewal services. Although Wesley's early covenant services were not held at any particular time of year, in British Methodism the custom soon developed of holding Covenant services near the beginning of the New Year, nowadays often on the first Sunday of the year. This was perhaps under the influence of the Methodist tradition of holding watchnight services on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

, which are held to welcome the coming year with the blessing of God rather than with "drunken revelry". In the 1920s, British Wesleyan Methodist minister George B. Robson expanded the form of the Covenant Service by replacing most of the exhortation with prayers of adoration, thanksgiving and confession. Robson's Covenant Service was revised and officially authorised for use in the ''Book of Offices'' (1936). Further revisions, strengthening the link with Communion and

intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of prayer, praying on behalf of others, or Intercession of saints, asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Saint Timothy, Timothy speci ...

for the wider church and the world, appeared in the ''Methodist Service Book'' (1975) and ''Methodist Worship Book'' (1999). Although the form of the covenant prayer and service have been simplified, important elements of them are still retained from Wesley's ''Directions''. They include many of the words both of the bidding that traditionally precedes the prayer, and the prayer itself. The bidding traditionally includes phrasing such as: :...Christ has many services to be done. Some are easy, others are difficult. Some bring honour, others bring reproach. Some are suitable to our natural inclinations and temporal interests, others are contrary to both... Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ, who strengthens us.

Music

In 2012, a new worship resource titled ''Worship and Song'' was published by

Abingdon Press Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. History Abingdon Press ...

. ''Worship and Song'' is a collection of 190 songs from around the world, as well as prayers and other liturgical resources. It contains a musical version of Wesley's prayer; the music was composed by ministers Adam F. Seate and Jay D. Locklear.

The Prayer

;Traditional :I am no longer my own, but thine. :Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. :Put me to doing, put me to suffering. :Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, :exalted for thee or brought low for thee. :Let me be full, let me be empty. :Let me have all things, let me have nothing. :I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. :And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, ::thou art mine, and I am thine. :So be it. :And the covenant which I have made on earth, :let it be ratified in heaven. :Amen. (as used in the ''Book of Offices'' of the British Methodist Church, 1936). ;Modern :I am no longer my own, but yours. :Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will; :put me to doing, put me to suffering; :let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you, :exalted for you, or brought low for you; :let me be full, :let me be empty, :let me have all things, :let me have nothing: :I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things :to your pleasure and disposal. :And now, glorious and blessed God, :Father, Son and Holy Spirit, :you are mine and I am yours. So be it. :And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. :Amen. (as used in the ''Methodist Worship Book'', 1999)

Footnotes

References

* * * *, from February 16 1749 to June 16, 1758. I
''The Complete Works of the Reverend John Wesley, A.M.'', 3rd Edition, Vol. 2
pp. 321–449. London: John Mason. *, i
''The Complete Works of the Reverend John Wesley, A.M.'', 4th Edition, Vol. 13
pp. 287–360. London: John Mason. Originally published, 1781.

External links

3rd edition (1784).
Covenant Renewal Service

The United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

Covenant Service

Methodist Church of Great Britain The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestantism, Protestant List of Christian denominations, Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodism, Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council. M ...

''Worship and Song'' page at Cokesbury.com
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