Renewal of Covenant

THE METHODIST COVENANT SERVICE
Methodists observe the tradition of renewing their covenant of devotion to God as evidenced through Christian discipleship. The Covenant Renewal Service is usually held on the first Lord’s Day of the year or as soon thereafter as possible. It was based on the service created in 755 by Methodist Founder John Wesley who used sources from the Puritan tradition to craft the Covenant Service.

The Covenant of Grace which Methodists celebrate is a loving relationship enabled through God’s grace, made possible through God’s initiative. The following words from the Covenant Service indicate:

“The Covenant has two sides:

On the one side is the promise which God has made to fulfil in and through us all that he declared in Jesus Christ. It is a promise which has never failed. It is a promise which we have proved in our lives from day to day…

On the other side is our pledge to live not for ourselves, but for him who gave himself for us, and who has called us to serve him so that the purposes of his coming to earth might be fulfilled.”

Active participation in this covenant of relationship makes it possible for us to follow on the resolve to love God, self and neighbour. In coming to our loving Creator, we find our true selves and are best place to love ourselves since we appreciate God’s loving acceptance. Encountering God’s love has the effect of prompting persons to live responsibly for God’s sake as they seek to relate to others both at the interpersonal and societal level.