Parishioners John and Jan Murch Reflect on Saving Their Marriage and Giving Back

When John Murch’s best friend died in a fire in 1985, he stopped and examined his life. John realized he had a problem with alcohol and that it had plagued his marriage for years. It was time for a transformative change, and while he joined Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), his wife, Jan Murch, joined Al-Anon.

“These programs saved us and saved our marriage,” Jan says. “We have gotten so much enrichment out of this community, and we’re so blessed. We have had the opportunity to give back over the years, and it has been an awesome time together.”

For over seven decades, Jan Murch has been a parishioner of Our Lady of the Angels. She was baptized there in 1947 and has been a member ever since.

“We tithe at Our Lady of the Angels, and we attend St. Paul’s because they have the 8 a.m. Mass,” John says. “We’re in a cluster now, and I believe whatever you give is shared, so we always put our shilling in the basket, so to speak.”

John and Jan met in second grade and started dating the last two months of high school. While Jan was raised Catholic, John was raised Lutheran but began attending Mass with Jan. After high school, Jan went into nursing school, and John joined the Air Force.

Unbeknownst to Jan, John became Catholic while they were engaged as he was serving in the Vietnam War.

“I took a ‘crash course’ on becoming Catholic while in Vietnam, but I guess you could say everything was a crash course there,” John says. “The rocket attacks we went through were scary, but my first Confession at 21 was really scary. I came home a Catholic, and we got married in 1968.”

Jan served as a lector at Our Lady of the Angels for years, and together John and Jan attended church with their two daughters. They also gave their time to help with faith formation classes and to serve as Eucharistic Ministers.

John and Jan Murch

“Both our daughters graduated and went on for their education, and we were blessed to put them in a Catholic college for a few years at St. Benedict’s,” Jan says.

When John was three years sober, he attended TEC — Together Encountering Christ — and experienced a spiritual awakening.

“There were so many broken people out there, and I was one of them,” he says. “We began helping with the TEC program and then became involved with REC (Residents Encountering Christ), a prison ministry. We would share about the hidden issues that affect families and about our story with alcohol, my using it and her putting up with the consequences.”

Today, John has been a member of AA for 35 years, and Jan has been a member of Al-Anon for 33 years.

“These programs are very spiritual,” Jan says. “We also have a break-off group for couples in these programs, and we get together as couples to support each other.”

John and Jan have gone through different seasons in their lives and have given back in different ways over the decades. Today, they’re thinking about new potential opportunities within the parish, such as serving as greeters together and raising awareness about life-changing programs like TEC and REC.

“There are so many ways to give, and it doesn’t have to be big and complicated,” John says. “Go to the church and talk to the secretaries about options and what is needed. Take a risk and try something. If it’s not for you, try something else.”