Clergy

The Reverend Donald M. Ashman (Vicar)

Father Ashman was appointed the new vicar by Archbishop Provence upon the departure of Father Kemp in February of this year. Father Ashman is also the rector of the Anglican Church of Our Saviour in Los Angeles and the Church of the Holy Apostles in Glendale. Father Ashman was the founding priest of Church of Our Saviour Santa Barbara in 1987 and shepherded the parish until 2003 when the parish became a Diocesan Mission.

Father Ashman was born in Los Angeles and attended local schools in Burbank and Los Angeles. He earned an A. A. Degree from Glendale Community College in 1967, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Cal State Long Beach in 1971 and did graduate work at UCLA in classics and education, earning his teaching credential in 1973. He has taught Latin, Greek and History at Hoover High School in Glendale since 1973 and has been actively involved in the Junior Classical League. Father was ordained a deacon in 1980 by Bishop Morse, a priest in 1983 and became rector of the Los Angeles and Glendale parishes the following year. He is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese and a former Examining Chaplain.

Father Ashman has been married to Ellen Springer Ashman for forty years and they have two adult children, Erin Ashman Salazar and Matthew Marrinor Ashman. Both are married and live in Ventura County. Father and Ellen live in Thousand Oaks, equally distant from Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

 

The Reverend Boyd R. Britton (Deacon)

The Reverend Boyd Britton is the parish deacon at the Los Angeles and Glendale parishes and celebrates a Deacon’s Mass with a sermon twice a month in Santa Barbara. Deacon Britton was ordained by Archbishop Provence in November of 2010. Deacon Britton works at a Radio Station near Our Saviour, Los Angeles, and lives in the San Fernando Valley.

 

 The Reverend Rob Kemp (Former Vicar)

Father Kemp was born and raised on a family farm in Cavalier, North Dakota. He grew up in an Assemblies of God church, came of age in an Evangelical Free Church, and became a Reformed Baptist in college while attending Bethlehem Baptist Church and listening to John Piper’s sermons. In 2000, he was married to Emily, who, between their engagement and marriage, began attending a liturgical Presbyterian Church.

Father Kemp with his wife Emily and children Edith and Gunder.

“My love for Emily was greater than my distaste for the liturgy, but over time the liturgy grew on me.”–Father Kemp

Father Kemp graduated college with a degree in Graphic Design, and worked for a while as a Graphic Designer. However, at the advice of a college professor and his father-in-law, Father Kemp enrolled at Reformed Theological Seminary. Emily wanted to attend a liturgical church, so they found St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Orlando Florida. Father Kemp was still uneasy with the liturgy, but as he puts it: “My love for Emily was greater than my distaste for the liturgy, but over time the liturgy grew on me. As my love for the liturgy grew I desired to find a more liturgical church and I was drawn into the Anglican Church.”

Father Kemp then joined the Anglican Province of Christ the King and attended the province seminary, St. Joseph of Arimathea. He was ordained as a deacon in 2007 and moved with his family to Santa Barbara, where he was welcomed enthusiastically as the new vicar for Santa Barbara Anglican Church of Our Savior. On June 3, 2008 he was ordained to the Priesthood.

Father Kemp and his family have moved back to North Dakota, and are having a great time there.