by Marlene Kropf
When I first heard the news of Ivan’s stroke,
an image flashed across my mind.
Ivan was bent over a map of Rome
showing us the way to Saint Peter’s.
He and Lois had just welcomed Stanley and me to the city
with great hugs and immense warmth –
and we went on walking together from there.
Now it strikes me that this is how it often was:
Ivan showing us the way.
Other images from that trip to Rome soon crowded my mind:
intense conversations about peacemaking and discipleship
with members of the Sant’ Egidio Community;
eating together in the piazza in Trastevere;
and then a visit to one particular church:
Saint Bartholomew on Tiber Island.
Saint Bartholomew hosts a collection of martyr images and stories
from many, many faith traditions.
In anticipation of this visit,
Ivan had brought along the story and image of Dirk Willems,
a well-known Anabaptist martyr from the 16th century.
Ivan presented the story to the priest, who was our guide,
and made a respectful but passionate plea for this story to be included
in the collection.
Can’t you just hear that combination of respect and passion??
At that moment I witnessed Ivan’s deep and steadfast commitment
to bring his two communities together: Mennonite and Catholic.
And I was moved, as I always was, by the depth of this loving commitment
that animated his whole life.
We were in Rome: 4 Mennonites (Dirk Giseburt, Marilyn Stahl,
Stanley and I), along with Lois and Ivan,
because Ivan had engineered an invitation for us to visit
the Sant’ Egidio Community,
a lay ecclesial community in Rome,
that he thought might become a structural model
for Bridgefolk to follow.
What we received was something far more precious than a structure:
out of that visit and subsequent interactions with Sant’ Egidio
came a nugget of wisdom that has guided Bridgefolk ever since:
Proceed through friendship.
Sant’ Egidio showed us how to do it,
and then Ivan and Lois had a name for what they had already been doing,
and the rest of us tried to follow.
Many other images returned during those days of waiting with Ivan
and his family for the great passing-over.
Not long after Ivan and I met in the early 90’s,
I hosted a conversation at AMBS to which I invited Ivan
and a small group of Mennonite pastors and leaders.
We shared our longings for fuller and deeper
celebration of the Eucharist in Mennonite congregations.
I remember Ivan following that conversation intently,
sometimes wiping away tears,
other times shaking his head in disbelief (can’t you see him???),
and eventually bursting out:
If I had known this conversation would ever happen,
I might not have had to leave the Mennonite Church
to become a Roman Catholic.
Ivan loved the Catholic Church,
and he never lost his love for the Mennonite Church –
though he could be massively impatient with both.
Ivan inspired me;
mentored me,
challenged me deeply.
He was the dynamic presence among the four co-founders
whose midwifery brought Bridgefolk to birth.
Without the energy of both Ivan and Lois,
Bridgefolk would never have happened.
He served as a central and valued member of the Bridgefolk board
for many years.
I will miss him for the rest of my life.
We will miss him.
All we can say is: THANK YOU, dear friend and brother.
THANK YOU, dear God.
Marlene Kropf
August 20, 2015