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 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. Perhaps for this reason, while the Covenant service has been an invariable part of the liturgy of the British Methodist Church and its daughter churches in the Commonwealth, its use is less widespread in American Methodist denominations. Referring to the United Methodist Church, Charles R. Hohenstein notes that "covenant services are seldom encountered these days", though theologian Leonard Sweet notes that certain Methodist connexions such as the Free Methodist Church and Pilgrim Holiness Church 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, which are done 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 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