Nineteen people gathered in Carrboro, NC on the afternoon of Saturday March 1 to brainstorm and plan creative actions against the prospective war in Iraq, in response to a call put out by Naked People for Peace NC. At the start of the meeting, each individual shared their inspiration for being present, each voice a unique yet complimentary addition to the mix, culminating in a rich planning meeting. Collectively the group shared a willingness to bare their bodies for peace, in effort to draw more attention to the anti-war movement, and to show that we are part of the same human family. As inspired by the website www.BaringWitness.org, we decided to take our message to the lawn. The Baring Witness website compiles dozens of photographs of people from around the world spelling messages of peace with their naked bodies. We decided on a positive, pro-active message that would represent our community and proceeded to sculpt the words "End War!" with our bare bodies upon the earth. Our bodies were at once a physical sculpture transcribing the voice of our local community and an echo of the world-wide voice that speaks out against war in Iraq. The afternoon culminated in planning for our next action: the Naked People for Peace Procession, week of March 3rd. Time is of the essence and the collective hope amongst this group is that our efforts will inspire others to take creative action and that this movement will gain momentum in NC.

Said one participant, "War is the antithesis of ALL life. Our bare human bodies are potent symbols of life. We creatively used our bodies to spell 'END WAR!' because we are for life - all living beings. The very survival of the human family is dependent on whether or not we heed this call/command."