102-year-old pastor still writing sermons to share

Until just a few months ago, 102-year-old minister Wilbert Gough was still leading Bible studies at his independent living apartment.

COVID-19 restrictions meant that Bible study group had to disband for the foreseeable future, but Gough continues to study God's word daily and write sermons for others at Sentry Hill to read.

Rev. Gough "sort of retired" from the pulpit at the age of 80. He had been a longtime pastor in many churches in the Maine area, Seacoastonline reports.

Having lived in the Seacoast area for 22, spending the last at his apartment in Sentry Hill, Gough didn't fully retire from active ministry until he was 99, when he stepped down as pastor of First Christian Church in Kittery.

"I thank God every day for my faculties and the measure of my mentality that He has allowed me to maintain," Gough says.

"I am ready to go on for as long as He wants me."

He then prints his work and distributes them around Sentry Hill to anyone who is interested.

Gough says writing sermons is natural to him after a lifetime of preaching and immersing others in God's word.

With the extra time the pandemic has given him, Gough says he's done a lot of praying.

"I think God is trying to tell us something, to search our hearts and make sure we nurture the fellowship and close relationships that lead to peace and comfort," he says.

"We were taught how to love people, even those who aren’t as friendly. To love and be kind in any way you can."

He passes along some words of wisdom.

"Everyone ought to be as careful and as wise in their living, so as to be as healthful as possible. None of us has all the answers or knows everything about the future, so we need a higher power. I call him God, and he is so precious to me. To me, it works," Gough says.