Lake Wylie setting for ‘Remnant of Hope’ filming

Lake Wylie is the setting for a story of compassion, acceptance, looking toward what people can do as crews arrived Friday for a two-day filming of “Remnant of Hope.”

The short film features local backdrops including Allison Creek Presbyterian Church, along with sites on Cumberland Island in Georgia. The filming is thanks to a Rock Hill native who found his calling years after he first heard it.

Ricky Teal, 48, felt a call to ministry almost a decade ago, but he didn’t know what until he started Sparrow Ranch on the Island two years ago where he lives at the end of Allison Creek Road.

"At the time I didn't know it was a special needs ministry,” he said of Sparrow Ranch. “I just knew it was a ministry. It's a ministry with special needs, kind of a little amphitheater on the lake, so we do a lot of events."

Families come from all over to worship, for fellowship and now, to create art. Teal has written a short film starring local teens Makayla Torres and Christopher Whitley. She is non-verbal. He has cerebral palsy.

“It is about a lot of different things — love, compassion, peace,” Teal said. “It's about the connection between people with special needs and the church.”

Having met everyone from makeup and recording artists to authors, actors, cinematographers and directors through Sparrow Ranch, Teal found quick going getting more people on board, including Karen Abercrombie, star of “War Room.” Several other professional actors joined as the faith-based film industry rallied.

“It was definitely inspired,” Teal said. “We're going to reveal how it really is for families with special needs, and how it should be."

Sharing stories

Several local families could tell the story well.

Sydney LoPour and mom LyRae Davis of Lake Wylie are part of Sparrow Ranch. LoPour is an award-winning speech writer, author and director of plays. She has Down syndrome. Davis performed on one version of “Paint My Life a Love Song,” a professionally produced song out of the Sparrow Ranch community.

“It’s a great song, by local talent,” said Davis, who also signs for the deaf with her husbandat Sparrow Ranch services.

LoPour focuses her plays on issues common to Sparrow Ranch participants, namely the interaction between people with special needs and their community. Sparrow Ranch is an outlet for all sorts of expression, artistic and otherwise.

“It’s an incredible ministry,” Davis said.

Torres Earl and her mother, Heather, also are involved with Sparrow Ranch. Parenting someone with special needs isn’t always easy, and finding a local church isn’t an exception, Heather Earl said.

“A lot of churches, they don’t include special needs ministry,” she said. “A lot of families feel like there’s no place for them, because they’re not included.”

Special needs individuals, young and old, have plenty to offer the faith community, Earl said. Part of the short film project involves sharing it with congregations and helping bring awareness of special needs within the church. The group is looking for as wide an audience as possible.

“We do plan on submitting it to film festivals when it’s completed,” Earl said.

Ready set

One church raised its awareness before the first take. Sam McGregor, pastor at Allison Creek Presbyterian, said his church doesn’t have a special needs ministry. Yet hearing the idea, he agreed to allow filming during a Sunday morning service as long as the special needs group would agree to leading worship, too.

“The film will challenge congregations to be more welcoming to kids with special needs,” McGregor said.

McGregor doesn’t know what the next steps for his church will be, but he is excited about the ongoing one.

“Ricky approached us a few months ago about using the space,” McGregor said. “Who knows where this leads, but we are open to finding out.”

Teal was pleased to a willing pastor since part of the film could paint "a little bit of a negative picture, which could have a little bit of a backlash" on a host church. The church agreed anyway.

It isn’t Teal’s home church and isn’t one he’d been in before he started scouting sites for filming. Yet there it was, at the end of his road.

"I kept passing this church on the end of my road and I thought,” he said, “you can't get any prettier than that."

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Lake Wylie setting for ‘Remnant of Hope’ filming."