Minister's Blog

These chalice lighting words were offered by the Rev. Jeff Barz-Snell on November 9, 2025.

November 9, 1938 is a somber anniversary for many people in Europe and many people of conscience around the world. On this night 87 years ago, the government in Nazi-Germany under the direction of Adolph Hitler orchestrated a series of attacks on Jewish synagogues and neighborhoods throughout Germany and Austria. This was the first widespread use of violent force against the Jewish minority who had been scapegoated by Nazi propaganda.

Kristallnacht is a German term that means “crystal night” or “night of broken glass.” It refers to the broken glass that littered the streets after masked Nazi thugs / security officials shattered the windows and ransacked the stores and homes of Jews throughout the country. That night over 12,000 synagogues were set on fire and 26,000 Jews were arrested and carried off to holding facilities. This was a major turning point in how the Nazi government treated its people and the world.

I cannot help but think of the parallels between 1938 and today. Our own government has quickly organized an extra-judicial security force, one that is armed with military grade weapons, one that is masked, and one that swears allegiance to one leader and not the Constitution. This government force is being charged with apprehending innocent people based on a series of mistruths about the reality of immigrants in the U.S. And they too are being taken from their families and moved to undisclosed detention facilities, with little or no outside accountability and little or no due process.

We realize things are different here in 2025, but we understand how quickly unchecked power can lead to the scapegoating and violent subjugation of a minority people. There is a difference between common sense immigration reform and the inhumane arrest and deportation of millions of hardworking and law-abiding people.

Therefore we light this chalice for our Unitarian Universalist principle of “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” and for the growing number of citizens around this country, and across the political spectrum, who are questioning and now protesting the work of ICE and our federal government.

History tells us what can happen in a tense situation like this. Transparency, accountability and decency should not be a rarity for federal officials and law enforcement. It should be the norm.