The Montreal Chinese Presbyterian Church has a very special organist. She is over 90 years of age and although she does not speak or understand Chinese, Sunday by Sunday, she plays for the services — unpaid!
Miss De Pierro's father was the minister of the Italian Presbyterian Church here in Montreal and from the age of nine, Rita played for his services.
All her life she has been a church organist and when the congregation of McVicar Memorial closed and Chinese moved in, she asked the minister if she could continue to play the organ from time to time. She was told she could play "any time, even on Sundays!"
That was in 1994 and she has been playing ever since. On the Sundays when the Montreal Marathon shuts down the buses, Rita De Pierro walks!
When she was a teenager, Miss De Pierro read the Bible every day, committing many of its verses to memory. During the interview, she quoted two of her favourites, word for word — verses that spoke of living "no longer to ourselves," and our duty to do everything "for the Lord… with all our heart."
From talking with Rita De Pierro, I learned that she doesn't need a pat on the back. She is serving not our church but God — with all her heart. We should never be concerned about what is in it for us and never ask for anything in return. Life is about what you can do for others. We can all learn from this.
