[Editor's note: Shaarey Zedek Congregation is no longer formally associated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). But it does upholds the standards and practices of  Conservative Judaism.]

..[In] 2008, gay Jews attending Shaarey Zedek, Winnipeg’s largest synagogue, would have heard Rabbi Alan Green announce that their synagogue would soon become the first Conservative (in denomination, not political viewpoint) Shul to welcome gay and lesbian Jews fully into their community.

After a year of consultations from 2007 to 2008, Rabbi Green announced that as of January 2008, gay and lesbian couples would be eligible to be buried as a couple in the Shaarey Zedek cemetery. The following year, gays and lesbians would be welcomed as members of the synagogue, allowing them to sit on committees and celebrate lifecycle events (bar or bat mitzvahs for their children, mourning, etc). Finally, as of January 1, 2010, gay and lesbian Jewish couples would be able to get married. While this incremental and lengthy process might not seem revolutionary to many, from the perspective of the Conservative Jewish community, it was indeed groundbreaking