 By Amanda WisnerWith countless religions being celebrated by their own beliefs and believers, in our world, these religions are usually drawn back to the first three majors: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Within these branches are variations of each different belief system, there are the bigger, more popular religions, and the more humble, merely recognized religions. One of these only somewhat common religions is Methodism.
Methodism in the United States goes as far back as 1736, even if the Methodist church wasn’t founded until 1968. It all began with John and Charles Wesley, when they had disagreed with the Church of England’s beliefs. Because of this, John Wesley had began to preach in the streets, while Charles had gone onto write more than six thousand hymns, (Which a handful are still found in modern worship) and was one of the founding fathers of the Methodist denomination. However, before John began preaching, he had, one day, decided to tune into a preaching in the streets. After the sermon, John said; "In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading (Martin) Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Meanwhile, George Whitefield, another former member of the “holy club”, had been a successful preacher around Bristol. So many people had come to Whitefield for help, he had pleaded help from John, who accepted the position with hesitation. Sooner or later, John had began preaching in the streets himself as he warmed to the ways of Whitefield’s preaching. After John had been preaching for some time, he had been given control of the movement due to his organization skills. However, Whitefield was a firm Calvinist, whereas Wesley did not fully understand this belief. With the movement, Wesley argued that “Christians could enjoy entire sanctification in this life: loving God and their neighbors, meekness and lowliness of heart, abstaining from all appearance of evil, and doing all for the glory of God.” The addition of John to the group of preachers had brought impact to more people, as he had been listened to by people, and had gained followers. However, when a person or cause gains a following group, there’s always at least one or two people that hold heresy (The obvious hatred of a religion shown through protestant actions) against the group, and John and his group weren’t special selections. Critics of the teachings John and the group spread had nicknamed the believers ‘Methodists’, (Yet this label was worn proudly) and the heretics had gone even further, as Methodists were frequently met with violence as paid protesters had broken up these meetings, and even had gone far enough to threaten Wesley’s life. Even when John had scheduled his meetings as to not interfere with local Anglican services, the bishop of Bristol had objected to John’s meetings. Leaving the response “The world is my parish”, (In which this phrase later became a common slogan in the Methodist church) John had eventually traveled over 4,000 miles annually, preaching some 40,000 sermons in his years of ministry. Few Anglican priests had joined the Methodists, yet John held onto the majority of the preaching, along with other tasks that needed to be taken care of. Keeping these responsibilities in line, John had also organized the Methodists into “connections” and “circuits”, which were all under the power of one “superintendent”. Along with periodic meetings, “annual conferences” were held, to worship and make sure all organizations were in order. Eventually, in 1787, John was required to register the lay preachers as non-Anglicans, and had ordained two lay preachers, and Thomas Coke as superintendent. Even if Methodism was moved out of the Church of England, John Wesley had remained Anglican until his death.
After learning about historic Methodism, there are many questions that still waver around in my mind, and these questions are the “What if’s” and others along similar lines. Along with (Extremely briefly) learning about Methodism in school, I actually have learned about John Wesley and the Methodists in church. (Through confirmation class) It’s very interesting to learn about your own religion, whether it be through school, church, or even one’s own curiosity. Growing up, I had not attended church regularly, yet I had occasionally gone to Sunday school at 9:30 AM, while my parents went to mass. We had been extremely busy during my childhood, yet now, I enjoy church, as there’s more available at church as people get older. I have been attending Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church (In Hatboro, PA) all of my life, and it is truly a beautiful church, both spiritually and architecturally. With an attempt of not boasting about my religion, I will touch on this briefly. Being a Methodist means several things to many people, whether some find Methodists offensive to them, or others absolutely love Methodists. There are many loopholes to these emotions, as they could be anything. I personally love how (At least in Lehman) everyone can easily get along, as no discrimination exists in the Methodist beliefs I was raised with, as well as everyone being extremely humble, and not shoving their religion into each other’s faces (Like some people assume) and it’s overall a very peaceful and understanding religion.
With a quick wrap-up, we can recall Wesley’s work to go against the Church of England, and had payed off by creating the Methodist denomination, and now to see how John’s contributions affect our society today is pretty neat if you ask me. Overall, Methodism has come a long way, from John Wesley and the Methodists to our Methodists today. 
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By Amanda Wisner In our world, there are many popular countries, many iconic places, and several historic, yet beautiful cities. One of these colorful, astonishing cities is Gothenburg, Sweden. Also known as; in Swedish; Göteborg, this place is Sweden’s chief seaport and and second largest city, one city behind Stockholm. Gothenburg lies along the Göta River estuary, which is near Kattegat. Back in 1603, Gothenburg was first founded by King Charles IX. The placement of the city was out of strategy, since at the time, the Göta River estuary was Sweden’s only direct outlet to the Atlantic Ocean back then. However, during the Kalmar War against Denmark, Gothenburg was destroyed, but later refounded by King Gustav Adolf II in 1619, and was chartered two years later, in 1621. Moving forward to the Eighteenth Century, Gothenburg’s prosperity increased with the development of the Swedish East India Company. Later on, during Napoleon's continental blockade, the port became Europe’s chief market for British goods. Another period of wealth rose in Gothenburg, in the year 1832 when the Göta Canal was completed, and a transoceanic shipping service was on the rise. Gothenburg has a few post-principal exports, which include the automobile brand Volvo, ball bearings, and paper. Along with these, shipbuilding yards on the island of Hisingen (Closer to the north) were important at one time, and the industry had ended in the 1970s. Thanks to the Göta Canal and railway lines, Gothenburg is connected to the rest of Sweden, and also with nearly Landvetter Airports, which support both domestic and international air traffic. Today, Gothenburg includes magnificent landscaping and beautiful towns, which feature an old, welcoming feel to them, along with a sense of organization and comfort. Overall, Gothenburg, Sweden holds a great history, along with beautiful scenes that adjectives cannot give justice to. With amazing architecture, welcoming cities, and overall beauty, Gothenburg is an astonishing city with many loveable features. 444 Days of Misery - By Amanda Wisner aa As you came across this article, you may have wondered, ‘What is the Iranian Hostage Crisis?’ Well, it may seem difficult to understand, but the Iran Hostage Crisis was a time period that Iran and the U.S., let’s say, didn’t get along so well. After a few small arguments between the two countries in past years, on November 4, 1979, the previous leader of Iran, otherwise known as the Shah, fled to Egypt since the Iranians did not enjoy the methods that their leader used to rule. After spending some time in Egypt, the Shah had developed a form of cancer, and then later travelled to the United States to seek medical assistance, along with further refuge from the Iranians.
After the Shah was taken in and cared for by the Americans, the Iranian people were extremely displeased, and they had continued to take American people from the US Embassy, which is located in Iran. These Americans were held hostage for 444 days, and several people escaped, or were released during these days. While all of this was happening, President Jimmy Carter was creating small and non-helpful attempts to end the entire feud, and one of these attempts was Operation Eagle Claw. Carter intended to send two helicopters to Iran and have them rescue the hostages without the Iranians’ knowledge, but the operation was a failure because of the winds within the desert, in which they had blown them to the ground, and the mission was then compromised. The American Presidential Election was now around the corner, and Carter was far behind Ronald Reagan. As the election came closer, the majority of Americans decided that Reagan was a better man for a president, therefore causing Reagan to win the election by a landslide. When Reagan was officially sent into office, on January 20, 1981, the rest of the American hostages were released, miraculously, just a few hours later. Overall, the Iranian Hostage Crisis was an extremely painful time for many people, and it will definitely remain as an important mark in history. The Hostage Crisis should definitely be taught to students, to inform them about this important, tragic event. However, even if the Hostage Crisis is already a taught aspect in Social Studies classrooms across the country, many citizens, especially of our country, are uneducated about this topic. You may question how I know this, but that’s because; when I informed a few of my friends I was writing this article, they had asked the same question you may have asked; ‘What is the Iranian Hostage Crisis? We continue sharing what the girls like in our leadership programs and will hear from some of our middle school girls today. |
 | Kirstin Kania "I like the leadership program because you can get to meet new people and make up new programs that you could teach to all the upcoming leaders in your group. I would recommend this program to other girls because of how fun it can be to make up a program on a topic they like and share it with others. Push through all the challenging stuff in life and hold your head high. Don't be shy to express yourself in amazing ways." |
 | Amanda Wisner "Every photo shoot is enjoyable and fun. There's usually a chance to wear multiple outfits and at the end of the day, it feels like happiness you would only find in high school movies." |
 | Larissa Chelius "Don't be afraid to talk. Everyone is open and won't judge you for being you. Although we may seem a little intimidating, get to know everyone. You might just make a new best friend." |
 | Emma Doughty "You don't have to be afraid to be yourself. We are all family here!" |
 | Julia Ischinger "Be nice and have fun. Share your ideas. Make sure you write articles and turn them in on time." |
 | Zandie Hall "It's a really friendly and safe environment that empowers people." |
 | Brylee Briggs "I like how you get closer to everyone. I would recommend this because it's fun!" |
Art and Music submission by Amanda Wisner
Inspiring Teens Member Amanda Wisner loves Imagine Dragons and her flute. Music flows through her so beautifully!
I feel very fortunate to have my studio located in Warrington, PA to photograph Teen Portraits, because we are so blessed to have so many beautiful locations within a few minutes of our building!
Recently, I got the opportunity to photograph 5 teens as part of their programs for Inspiring Teens Magazine. We started at our studio in the Metropolitan Plaza Building with something that was important to them. Their items ranged from musical to sports!
Recently, I got the opportunity to photograph 5 teens as part of their programs for Inspiring Teens Magazine. We started at our studio in the Metropolitan Plaza Building with something that was important to them. Their items ranged from musical to sports!
 Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Conway Productions Inc - Olvia's First Up! |  Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Conway Productions Inc - Olivia |
Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Conway Productions Inc - Amanda
We did these while they were all arriving and settling in, and then they got changed to move on to Valley Square. We had a lot of fun in this gorgeous shopping center! I loved the variety of looks that they wore for this!
Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Valley Square
 Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Valley Square - Jillian |  Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Valley Square - Eva |
Afterwards, we went to Kemper Park for their next set of teen portraits in Warrington, PA, which is technically in Warminster, but since it's on the same street as Warrington, we'll let that slide!
Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Kemper Park - Jillian's Turn!
The girls had these things to say about their Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA photo shoot:
"What I liked best about the photo shoot was that everyone was so nice and supportive, especially when everyone was getting their photos done."
- Amanda
"I liked how I could see some of my friends during the shoot, and I thought it was fun to get in the creek."
- Jillian
"My favorite part was being able to get photos taken in/with items that meant a lot to me and being able to make so many memories with amazing people. I think they are a good bonding experience for us outside of the programs. I personally have become a lot closer with girls because of them."
- Olivia
"I loved laying in the creek. Dirty, but fun!" (This was Ellie's 3rd time getting her teen portraits taken at and near our Warrington, PA studio!)
- Ellie
"What I liked best about the photo shoot was that everyone was so nice and supportive, especially when everyone was getting their photos done."
- Amanda
"I liked how I could see some of my friends during the shoot, and I thought it was fun to get in the creek."
- Jillian
"My favorite part was being able to get photos taken in/with items that meant a lot to me and being able to make so many memories with amazing people. I think they are a good bonding experience for us outside of the programs. I personally have become a lot closer with girls because of them."
- Olivia
"I loved laying in the creek. Dirty, but fun!" (This was Ellie's 3rd time getting her teen portraits taken at and near our Warrington, PA studio!)
- Ellie
Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA at Kemper Park - Ellie So that's a wrap on our day of Teen Portraits in Warrington, PA!
Book your own Teen Portraits Photo Shoot by Visiting our Teen Portraits page.
From our Ambassador Olivia, who was one of the five girls photographed:
On August 17th, 2017 five teen girls from Inspiring Teens Magazine took part in a fun Teen Portraits photoshoot in Warrington, PA. They all fundraised 500 dollars or more so this was their reward.
They all started out at the Inspiring Teens studio in the Metropolitan Plaza Building. They came wearing an outfit that went along with something that is special to them. For example, a soccer jersey and a soccer ball.
They then all moved on to Valley Square a local outdoor shopping center where they were wearing a trendy and fashionable.
The last location they shot at was Kemper Park. For this location, the girls were wearing something summery. Some sat by the edge of the creek to take their photos, and some girls actually got in the creek. All of the photos were taken by Leslie Conway from Conway Productions Inc.
To find out how to join Inspiring Teens Magazine you can go to their website www.inspiringteensmagazine.com
On August 17th, 2017 five teen girls from Inspiring Teens Magazine took part in a fun Teen Portraits photoshoot in Warrington, PA. They all fundraised 500 dollars or more so this was their reward.
They all started out at the Inspiring Teens studio in the Metropolitan Plaza Building. They came wearing an outfit that went along with something that is special to them. For example, a soccer jersey and a soccer ball.
They then all moved on to Valley Square a local outdoor shopping center where they were wearing a trendy and fashionable.
The last location they shot at was Kemper Park. For this location, the girls were wearing something summery. Some sat by the edge of the creek to take their photos, and some girls actually got in the creek. All of the photos were taken by Leslie Conway from Conway Productions Inc.
To find out how to join Inspiring Teens Magazine you can go to their website www.inspiringteensmagazine.com