An Important Covenant
What do you promise to do as a member of our church?
When we commit to becoming a member of Palmyra First United Methodist Church, we join with Christians throughout the ages in pledging to love God with all of our hearts and serving others daily. This is what it means to live out our baptismal covenant. God offers us a covenant of continued grace and acceptance, and we respond to God’s covenant by pouring this love back out by. . . 
- Committing to weekly worship
- Participating in the sacrament of Holy Communion
- Growing in personal prayer and devotion
- Studying the Bible and the Christian Faith
- Beginning and growing in the journey of systematic financial giving to our local congregation’s ministries and worldwide missions, with the goal of a tithe
- Using your life gifts and passions, so as to serve inside the walls of our Church, and outside the walls through your Christian action
- Being accountable to one another through a small group of other members formed around fellowship, leadership, study or/and a service project.
The membership vows in our Book of Worship state our intentions by asking, “Will you be loyal to the United Methodist Church and faithfully participate in the ministries of the Palmyra First United Methodist Church through your prayers, presence, gifts and service?”
Historically, Methodists have called this covenant the “General Rules” of membership, and using 18th century language stated them as “Doing no harm, doing all the good you can, and observing the ordinances of God.” A later General Rule of Discipleship stated it this way: “To witness to Jesus Christ in the world and to follow his teachings through acts of compassion, justice, worship and devotion.”