Pastor Richard Moody was born in Crawford, NE.  Upon graduating from the University of Nebraska in May of 1975, he entered Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. 

          Pastor Moody had never met a deaf person during his first 25 years of life in Nebraska.  At the Seminary, Mr Omahr Mork was studying to become a pastor in the LCMS and his interpreter was Pastor Ron Friedrich.  Pastor Moody began studying sign language, and during his second year transferred to Holy Cross Deaf as a field work student.  From the deaf and Pastors Friedrich and Hewitt (the Pastor of Holy Cross Deaf), he learned the language and culture of the deaf.

         Pastor married his wife, Lois, here in St. Louis on May 28, 1977.   One 
month later found them in Washington, DC, to vicar under Pastor Dan Pokorny 
at the Isaiah 29 Center for Deaf Ministry.  From Pastor Pokorny, Vicar Moody 
learned so much about the respect for the language of the deaf and how to use 
that language