Rabbi Steven Wernick, who took over as leader of the troubled United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in July, jokes that he signed a contract for three years "or until I drop over from exhaustion." Although the 42-year-old appeared to be going strong during a visit to the Twin Cities last weekend, the exhaustion comment isn't as much of a joke now that he has logged more than 100,000 miles of travel in six months.
"When I was considering this job, a lot of my friends asked me why on Earth I'd ever want it," said Wernick, a native of Winnipeg who got his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota. "I asked myself the same question."
The organization was in disarray. Its revenues had dropped 12 percent in a year, and it wasn't just a short-term trend; overall, the Conservatives' share of American Judaism has fallen from 43 percent to 33 percent over the past two decades. Many people think Conservative Judaism is in crisis. Wernick is not among them.
"I think there's the possibility of a crisis on the horizon if we fail [to turn things around], but we're not there yet," he said. "Our problem is not one of ideology or theology; it's one of organization."
One of the first things he did when he became vice president and CEO (the president is a lay position) was to pare the board of directors from a whopping 200 to a more manageable 75. Then he hit the road to touch base with as many member synagogues as he could. He added 12 Minnesota congregations to that list on this trip.
"I want to hear what they're saying," he said. "I want to know what they're feeling, and I want to find out what they want from us in terms of service and support."
He exudes optimism. "I believe that we are on the brink of a renaissance," he said. "There are many wonderful parts of Conservative Judaism that people overlook. We're still the second-largest Jewish denomination in the United States [behind Reform]. Yes, we have some tough decisions to make, but we're making them. Every place I've been, people have been excited about the changes we're making."
A statue of stature The St. Paul Cathedral is the first stop on a nationwide tour for a replica of Michelangelo's Pietà, a life-size sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus Christ after his death.
