Covenant Renewal Service

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The Covenant Renewal Service, or simply called the Covenant Service,^[1] was adapted by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, for the purpose of the renewal of the Christian believer's covenant with God. 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."^[2] The first such service was held on 11 August 1755, in London.

Congregations of some Methodist connexions (notably in the United Methodist Church, Free Methodist Church and Pilgrim Holiness Church in the United States) often use the Covenant Renewal liturgy for the watchnight service of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.^[3] In the Methodist Church in Britain the custom is for the service to be held on the first Sunday of the New Year when a presbyter is available (since the Covenant service order includes Holy Communion, 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 and the Church at the start of the year.^[4] It includes hymns, prayers, Scripture lessons, a sermon, and Holy Communion.^[5]

The covenant prayer and service are recognised as one of the most distinctive contributions of Methodism to the liturgy of Protestantism in general, and they are also used from time to time by other Christian denominations.^{[citation needed]}