Shlomo Ben Avraham "Ole" Brunell
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Ole Brunell, as he was originally named, was born in Karleby, Finland in 1953. That part of Finland is Swedish-speaking.
Mr. Brunell was ordained as a minister in the Lutheran Church in 1978. At that time, he believed in the teachings of the Lutheran Church. He served as a pastor in both Finland and Australia. He preached and ministered in Swedish, English, and Finnish during his carrier as a minister.
Eventually, he ceased to believe in the teachings of the Lutheran Church, and eventually came not to believe in Christianity at all. Because of this, he could not in good conscience continue as a minister, or even as a parishioner in the Church. In 1990, he resigned the ministry. At the same time he ceased to be a Lutheran, due in part to what he saw as shabby treatment by the Church Hierarchy.
After six years of deep soul searching, he his wife, two adult daughters, two teenage daughters, all decided to convert to Judaism. The first answer from the Orthodox Jewish establishment was “no,” but he would not take “no” for an answer! Eventually they relented, and all were converted. Upon conversion, Mr. Brunell changed his first name from “Ole” to “Shlomo ben Avraham,” and his wife changed her name from “Runa” to “Ruth.” Note that ben Avraham ("son of Abraham") is a name generally given to male converts, and that "Ruth" is a name commonly given to gemale converts. The family retained the name “Brunell.”
The entire family now lives in Israel. At least one of the daughters is now married (in a proper Jewish marriage).
M. Brunell wrote of his experience in a book entitled “Strangers No More,” ISBN 965-299-304-0 published by Gefen Publishing House in Jerusalem in 2005.
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