Friday evening began with the ladies being welcomed to the Fresh Start Retreat. Dr. Pettigrew waved the traditional magic wand explaining it was available for anyone to use should they feel the need to banish negative energy. After the introductions and a brief outline of the weekend’s activities the ladies were escorted to a room which had been transformed into a tranquil oasis complete with soft music to set the mood. It was a place where each woman was pampered with hand massages and facials. It was in this room that the ladies received their gift bags filled with goodies as well as journals that they would use for the entire retreat. But the most important activity was performed personally by Dr. Pettigrew. Taking her cue from Jesus she humbly and lovingly washed their feet and gave them foot and leg massages. The evening ended with reminders to the ladies to arrive early for breakfast on Saturday morning and be prepared for the work ahead.After breakfast on Saturday morning the Renew Thyself Session began with Dr. Pettigrew sharing a brief history of her own journey to a Fresh Start that culminated in the birth of Fresh Start for Women. Next Ms. Bettye Ferguson opened the lines of communication with her short skit between a woman and her abusive husband. The ladies were invited to share their earliest memories of hurt and pain and their reactions to them.
Throughout this session emphasis was placed on forgiveness and its importance to the healing process. In attendance was one woman who had just buried her 21 year old daughter 2 weeks prior. She was invited to the circle and everyone embraced her and prayed for her. It was truly a moving moment. The session ended with the women being given time to write in their journals.
Next Ms. Phyll
is Taylor took the ladies through an exercise in which they were encouraged to paint as a form of healing therapy. Once the ladies got over the initial fear of being judged for their painting skills they jumped in and had a wonderful time. Many painted more than one piece each with a meaning that was important to them. After this activity the ladies were served lunch prepared by Dr. Pettigrew that included homemade vegetable soup and chicken salad sandwiches. Afterwards there was free time for reflection and journaling.
is Taylor took the ladies through an exercise in which they were encouraged to paint as a form of healing therapy. Once the ladies got over the initial fear of being judged for their painting skills they jumped in and had a wonderful time. Many painted more than one piece each with a meaning that was important to them. After this activity the ladies were served lunch prepared by Dr. Pettigrew that included homemade vegetable soup and chicken salad sandwiches. Afterwards there was free time for reflection and journaling.Dr. Pettigrew even surprised the ladies with volunteer Mr. Jerrell Riddles who provided them with massages.
The ladies were ne
xt invited to participate in the Envisioning You session. It was in this session that Dr. Pettigrew talked about mapping a plan for success. The ladies were encouraged to do the D’s:
• Decide what you want
• Determine to make it happen
• Diligently Do everything in your power to achieve it
• Detach yourself from the results
xt invited to participate in the Envisioning You session. It was in this session that Dr. Pettigrew talked about mapping a plan for success. The ladies were encouraged to do the D’s:• Decide what you want
• Determine to make it happen
• Diligently Do everything in your power to achieve it
• Detach yourself from the results
The ladies were encouraged to:
• Explore themselves by recognizing their “uniqueness”
• Discover, Define & Develop themselves by tapping into new talent and experiencing growth
• They were encouraged to honor themselves, mind, body and soul which meant “Love being You”
• Finally they were encouraged to change their environment by removing negative energy and surrounding themselves with people of equal or greater ability, aptitude and experience.
• Explore themselves by recognizing their “uniqueness”
• Discover, Define & Develop themselves by tapping into new talent and experiencing growth
• They were encouraged to honor themselves, mind, body and soul which meant “Love being You”
• Finally they were encouraged to change their environment by removing negative energy and surrounding themselves with people of equal or greater ability, aptitude and experience.
Next 
the ladies were invited to the Affirmation Circle, in which each woman pulled an affirmation from the circle and using the woman to their left as their mirror shared that affirmation with confidence and faith. Finally, the ladies were asked by Dr. Pettigrew to close their eyes and listen only to her voice as she took them on a journey through the forest. The ladies were then encouraged to create a visual of their hopes, dreams and desires by creating their own personally designed collage.
the ladies were invited to the Affirmation Circle, in which each woman pulled an affirmation from the circle and using the woman to their left as their mirror shared that affirmation with confidence and faith. Finally, the ladies were asked by Dr. Pettigrew to close their eyes and listen only to her voice as she took them on a journey through the forest. The ladies were then encouraged to create a visual of their hopes, dreams and desires by creating their own personally designed collage. The ladies had a lot to digest during their free time before dinner would be served. While they finished up their projects or just relaxed or wrote in their journals, Dr. Pettigrew was downstairs preparing a spaghetti dinner. At dinner Ms. Pamela Burrell shared some final words of encouragement. Of course the day had been long and tiring but the ladies expressed a genuine appreciation for the work being done.
The only thing left to do was to wrap it all together and that was done on Sunday morning. After breakfast Dr. Pettigrew gave some final words of encouragement at the same time presenting the ladies with their own Fresh Start mirror as a reminder to continue to say their affirmations each day. Next the ladies were invited to share their experiences of the weekend as well as sharing their collages which to their surprise had been lovingly framed by Dr. Pettigrew that morning while all were asleep. Lastly, the ladies were asked to write down at least one thing they were ready to let go and let God. These were then placed inside balloons and together they all walked outside to release them amid heartfelt prayers. This brought to a close another successful Fresh Star Retreat.
Fresh Start for Women wishes to extend a special thanks to Ms. Sharon Prater, photographer for documenting the retreat through pictures and video.
