Tom Moffett shows up. At meetings, at rallies, at protests, the Christian Care Louisville resident has proven himself to be one of Kentucky’s most consistent social-justice champions. Tom, retired from the Presbyterian Church after years of pastoring an integrated congregation in the mid-1960s, holds to his commitments to civil rights to this day. At 92 years of age, he continues to lead a life that is active, engaged and involved.
Awarded the Third Annual Gold Standard Award for Optimal Aging three years ago by Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher, Tom’s belief is that “injustice to one is injustice to all.” He hasn’t been afraid to speak out on issues such as racism, police brutality, health care, equal rights, peace over war and the needs of youth and children.
Born to Presbyterian missionaries in Korea, Moffett became a Presbyterian minister himself, and an early calling to West Virginia coal country, he says, opened his eyes to racial inequality and economic oppression, causes that became his life’s avocation. He eventually left the ministry and became an accountant but today worships with a predominantly African-American congregation at Grace Hope Presbyterian Church in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood. Moffett also is known to reach out to others across all social strata, and also has developed a Facebook following with more than 200 friends.
As a staff member at his Christian Care’s Louisville Chapel House home once noted, “Divorce, the death of an adult child and other disappointments in life have not broken (Tom’s) spirit. He has faced hardship and gone on. For myself, and those of us who are fortunate to know Tom, … we are blessed with the model he presents as to how to truly live life at any age to the fullest.”