After 30 Years, Armitsteads Leave Jackson Heights
T he Rev. Austin Armitstead, for more than 20 years pastor of Community United Methodist Church in Jackson Heights and after his retirement from the ministry the Gazette's Roving Photographer and community

The Rev. Austin Armitstead, retired pastor of Community United Methodist Church, Jackson Heights, and his wife, Bianca, at a surprise party at Armondo's in Jackson Heights, held a week before they moved to Suffolk, Virginia.

liaison, moved to Suffolk, Virginia Tuesday.

"For more than 10 years Austin Armitstead was an invaluable member of our team at the Gazette," Tony Barsamian, the newspaper's publisher, said. "His Roving Photographer column gave us new, fresh insights into the communities we serve and his work as community liaison helped to form bonds with readers, political leaders and civic activists that we will treasure forever. Austin is irreplaceable."

Armitstead said goodbye to a group of old friends that included former parishioners and his administrative assistant, Mina Kahoffer, at a party at Armondo's Restaurant in Jackson Heights last Wednesday. "We thought we were just going to meet some friends, so it was still a surprise," Bianca Armitstead, Armitstead's wife, said.

Armitstead retired from active ministry in 1995 and then produced the Roving Photographer column for the Gazette for several years before age and increasing ill health brought about a second retirement. During the three decades that he lived and worked in Jackson Heights, his name became synonymous with the neighborhood, Borough President Helen Marshall commented. "During your ministry, the Community United Methodist Church became one of the first houses of worship in the area to accommodate services in multiple languages. Cultural harmony became part and parcel of your creed," Marshall added in a letter she sent to Armitstead when she learned of the move. "You set the tone, and the community as a whole benefited from your compassionate vision."

Armitstead was pastor of Community United Methodist Church from 1974 to 1995. A World War II veteran, he was instrumental in opening the church to services in Korean, Chinese and Spanish as well as English. The church Prayer Garden was established in his ecumenical spirit and dedicated to him. An avid baseball fan, he followed the Mets since the team's inception and regularly attended home games at Shea Stadium.

- Photo & Story by Rose Albergo & Melissa Cipolla