Congregants and celebrants gather with Rev. Andreas Krone (center) for a Solar Thanksgiving at the church of Runkel-Steeden, Germany, in 2014. Photo courtesy Andreas Krone.
Humans celebrate by giving thanks for the harvest around the world. In Germany, the holiday is called Erntedankfest, meaning Harvest Festival or Thanksgiving, and it falls each year on the first Sunday in October.
The universal nature of both harvest and giving thanks lends itself to new and inventive ways to celebrate. For Andreas Krone, a pastor and eco-minister with the German Protestant Church, thanksgiving offered the perfect opportunity to reflect on the fruits of a sun-drenched harvest. As such, with a heart for creation justice and stewardship, Krone took the celebration one step further, creating a blueprint for celebrating a Solar Thanksgiving, a thanksgiving to give thanks for solar power.
Krone’s book Solar Thanksgiving Celebration is “a solar education guide” with “liturgical and other suggestions for the energy transition.” Originally published in German in 2024 with his wife Lucy D’Souza-Krone, the book is now available in English. The beautiful artwork included in the book, created by D’Souza-Krone, demonstrates how celebratory a Solar Thanksgiving can be.
For the Krones, along with the invitation to celebrate with a new awareness of what we can be thankful for, there is the underlying strength of this Solar Thanksgiving is that it has the potential for worldwide celebration.
From the book:
“Solar Thanksgiving can be celebrated everywhere and by everyone on earth—as a worldwide celebration of thanksgiving for the renewable energies available to the whole world, uniting cultures and religions.”
Like all projects, Solar Thanksgiving began with an inspiration. In Krone’s case, this inspiration was informed by a love of creation and lifelong practices of stewardship. Seeking fresh ideas for supporting creation justice, Krone began shaping a new practice of celebration in 2007, which included education around solar installation and transition, encouraging church and community members to be ambassadors for solar energy, and, over time, the development of a number of prayers and liturgies to raise up in praise of God, who has provided solar energy in abundance.
“Celebrating Solar Thanksgiving is a way for religious communities to contribute to the transition to renewable energy in their own unique way by honoring those who have already installed solar panels on the roof of their homes,” Krone explains. “In this way the church helps to create an atmosphere and a reputation that motivates people to such action.” Krone hopes to support a growing recognition that adopting solar “is in harmony with our faith for the benefit of people and creation.”
Krone presented the project in 2009 at the German Protestant Synod and never looked back. He has since shared the project in Germany and internationally, including at the World Council of Churches gathering in Korea in 2013. Forwards for the book were written by Prof. Dr. Klaus Töpfer, former Federal Minister for Environment of Germany and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program, and Rev. David Coleman, Environmental Chaplain for Eco-Congregational Scotland.
A sample prayer from the book:
“Dear God, I thank you with all my heart for the sun as the engine of life. You created it to bring light and warmth to our Earth and thus make life in all its forms possible. I am grateful for the infinite energy that the sun gives us. It enables plants to grow animals to live and us humans to organize our everyday lives. Without the sun there would be no life on this planet. Lord, thank you for your wisdom and goodness in creating this marvelous system. You have placed and sized the sun so perfectly that it provides just the right amount of energy to keep everything alive.”
Find the German Version on Bookshop.org Solar-Erntedankfest. While the English version is not yet on Bookshop.org, try there first as it may soon be available. Meanwhile, find the English version here.