Staff
Rev. Curtis Bablitz
MinisterCurtis grew up in the Lower Mainland and spent many years working at Camp Douglas in Roberts Creek, BC. He graduated from VST in 2011 with an MDiv with Honours in Homiletics. He served for 12 years as minister of Brant Hills Presbyterian Church in Burlington, Ontario before coming to RPC in 2023. He loves preaching and teaching, as well as playing video games and board games and cheering for the Vancouver Canucks. His wife Johanna is an elementary school teacher and they have two children.
Natalie Lin
Educational Ministries ProgrammerNatalie Lin joined Richmond Presbyterian Church with a deep passion for faith formation and youth discipleship. She has been actively involved in church ministry since a young age, leading Vacation Bible Schools, Bible Studies, Kids Ministries, Summer Youth Camps, Sunday School, Youth Fellowship, Missions Trips, and Worship Teams. Natalie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Interpersonal Development from the University of British Columbia. She currently works at Costco, tutors children with mental disabilities, runs her own guitar school, and serves as a Civilian Instructor for the 2472 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps. Grounded in her faith and guided by a heart for service, Natalie strives to help children and youth grow in their relationship with Christ and build meaningful connections across generations within the church community. In her free time, she enjoys music, spending time outdoors, and connecting with friends and family.
Dr. Jannie Burdeti
Music DirectorJannie was born and raised in San Francisco, and after more than fifteen years of undergraduate and graduate studies in piano and chamber music performance at the Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory, Hochschule fur Musik in Freiburg, Germany, and San Francisco’s Conservatory of Music, the light at the end of the tunnel is slowly emerging as a doctoral candidate. Although she has performed across North America and Europe, her spiritual journey has always been at the heart of her activities and inactivities (meditation). Nothing is more important to her than getting to know God more deeply and serving through her gifts as a musician. Jannie says: Before I go on stage, my prayer is always to be an empty vessel so that God may use me, and my prayer as I start at RPC is no different. I come to you after serving as Music Director at Magothy Methodist Church, Govans Presbyterian Church, and St. Paul's United Church. In addition to music and God, my passions include being a loving spouse, recycling, and doing dishes (not kidding).
Rev. Dr. Richard Topping
MInister in AssociationRev. Dr. Richard Topping serves as Richmond Presbyterian Church's MInister in Association. Richard is the President and Vice-Chancellor at Vancouver School of Theology as well as the Professor of Studies in the Reformed Tradition.
Richard Topping received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from University of Waterloo, a Master of Arts in Theology from St. Michael’s University in the Toronto School of Theology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Theology from Wycliffe College, where his thesis Director was Professor John Webster. His doctoral thesis focused on theological interpretation of scripture in Hans Frei and Karl Barth.
Richard was Minister at Zion and Knox Presbyterian Churches in Muskoka, Ontario from 1993-1996 and at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montreal, Quebec, where he was Assistant Minister from 1997-1999 and Senior Minister from 2000-2009. He has written or coauthored a number of documents for the Presbyterian Church in Canada, including a Catechism for Today (2008) and Together in Ministry (2006). He currently serves on the Church Doctrine Committee for the national church.
Richard taught at Presbyterian College (2001-2009) in the Montreal School of Theology at McGill University in the areas of Preaching, Pastoral theology, Introduction to Ministry and Church, Ministry and Sacraments.
Richard holds the St. Andrew’s Hall Chair in Studies in the Reformed Tradition and has been the Principal of Vancouver School of Theology since 2013. He teaches in the areas of Introduction to Theology, Reformation History, Christian Spirituality and Reformed Theology of the 19th and Twentieth Century.
Richard initiated a Karl Barth reading group which has been active now for 11 years. He is a regular preacher in the Vancouver area and lecturer across the country in the areas of pastoral leadership and strategic direction.
Dr. Aurora Burdeti
Church AdministratorDr. Aurora Burdeti has served as the Church Administrator at RPC since April 2024, where she brings both dedication and a wealth of experience to her work in supporting RPC’s mission and community. Her background includes a master’s degree in Guitar Performance from McGill University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory, adding a unique depth to her administrative and creative contributions at RPC. In addition to her church role, Aurora teaches classical guitar and runs her own private music school in Vancouver, where she shares her love of music with students. In her free time, she enjoys hands-on creative work, from arranging guitar music and multimedia projects to woodworking, electronics repair, and audio recording. Aurora also loves playing badminton, enjoys preparing healthy vegetarian meals, and likes playing video games. She also finds joy in helping out at the church. You may reach her at richpres@telus.net.
Graeme Stager
Clerk of Session(Former Worship Director)
Graeme Stager was born in Montreal but the family moved to a suburb of Toronto before he was a year old. He graduated from the University of Toronto and was ordained an elder at Glenview Presbyterian Church in that city. His career has been in Information Technology, primarily developing budgeting and forecasting applications.
He was transferred to Calgary in 1981 where he attended Grace Presbyterian and then moved for good to Vancouver in 1982. Initially living in the West End, he met his future wife Margie at Central Presbyterian, where he was on Session and also organist for a few years.
With the arrival of Gordon, and then Laura, the family began attending Richmond Presbyterian in 1993, where he again became organist. Elected to Session a few years later, he became clerk in 2011. He stepped down as music director in 2020.
His hobbies include reading, word and number puzzles, walking, and biking. He is excited about opportunities for RPC to minister to our city in this post-Christian age.