A local advocate for the LGBTQ community and a board leader at Roland Park’s Bolton Street Synagogue, Marc Howard Wernick passed away suddenly on Friday, Dec. 5.
The Brewers Hill resident, who worked as a training specialist for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, was 62.
“Marc was an extraordinary human being — warm, generous, and endlessly kind,” wrote his family. “He had the rare gift of being able to walk into a room of eight people and walk out with nine friends. His capacity for connection, compassion, and joy touched every life he encountered.”
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Wernick, a longtime public health professional who grew up in Montgomery County, became a bar mitzvah at Har Shalom Congregation in Potomac.
In an article posted on the website of Na’aleh: The Hub for Leadership Learning, Wernick said he grappled with being Jewish after coming out as gay.
“The struggle between my gay and Jewish identities were at odds, not so much from a theological perspective but Judaism for me was so much enmeshed in family, and when I came out in 1992 there were very few gay men that were raising kids,” he said. “I didn’t quite know how to be gay and Jewish.”
After living for a while in San Francisco, Wernick moved to New York to earn his master’s degree in public health from Columbia University. In 2012, he moved to Baltimore and became immersed in Bolton Street Synagogue.
In addition, he was involved with JPride, a local organization that awards seed grants for LGBTQ programming in the area. JPride has been heavily involved in the Queer Arts Festival at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts, the Beth Am Film Series and the Bolton Street JPride Seder.
“The remarkable part of the Baltimore queer Jewish community is the collaboration between all the Jewish organizations. It is not uncommon to have eight to 12 organizations co-sponsoring an event,” Wernick said in the Na’aleh article.
In addition, Wernick was a board member of the Macks Jewish Connection Network and a member of the Jewish Community Center’s arts and culture committee. He was also a graduate of Na’aleh’s Accelerate leadership program.
“I’m very challenged by the work that we’re doing at the Macks Center for Jewish Connection, looking at ways to engage unengaged Jews, people who aren’t affiliated with the synagogue, people who aren’t sending their kids to Jewish summer camp,” Wernick said in a 2023 profile posted by The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore. “How do we reach these people? I think we’re developing a very interesting portfolio of activities and relationships to be able to engage people in ways that are meaningful to them.
“I’m also very excited about the work we’re doing with Rabbi [Andy] Gordon at Bolton Street,” he said. “We’re looking at making liturgy more inclusive. For instance, what do we call a b’nai mitzvah for someone who’s gender non-binary, gender expansive or transgender? We’re also considering how to contemporize rituals. For example, how do you mark a retirement? The third initiative is about building community around festivals. I love Rabbi Gordon’s metric: If you have people in strollers and people in walkers, you’ve done a good job.”
In addition, Wernick was a certified mahjong instructor and a self-proclaimed “foodie.”
Wernick was the son of Thea Wernick and the late Ted Wernick; the brother of Mara Robinson, and her husband, Michael; and the uncle of Todd and Lindsay Robinson.
“Heartbroken to share that my amazing brother, Marc, has passed unexpectedly,” Mara Robinson wrote on social media. “He was the epitome of kindness, intelligence, and generosity. He loved deeply, showed up for everyone, and made the world brighter just by being in it. I will miss him more than words can say. The numerous texts and calls that we have received already are beautiful reminders of what hearts he touched!”
Services for Wernick were held on Monday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. at Temple Beth Ami, 14330 Travilah Road in Rockville. Interment was private.
Contributions in his memory may be made to Bolton Street Synagogue (boltonstreet.org) or Temple Beth Ami (bethami.org).
A memorial service for Wernick will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. at Bolton Street Synagogue, 212 W. Cold Spring Lane. (Due to parking lot limitations, carpooling is recommended.)
“Marc Wernick was an incredibly devoted congregant at Bolton Street Synagogue and a leader in our Baltimore Jewish community,” said Bolton Street’s Rabbi Gordon. “He pushed our Jewish community to be more inclusive, welcoming, and sensitive to all who entered our doors. He was deeply creative, always with a joke and a kind smile. Marc was the glue of our congregation and will sorely be missed by so many of us.”
——
Israeli-Americans Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin talked about the pain of losing their 23-year-old son, who was kidnapped and later murdered in the Oct. 7th tragedy.
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.