September 15 Today in OPC History

Born on March 27, 1950, James W. Scott, former managing editor of New Horizons, grew up in Iowa. As a teen, Jim worked with his father, a quality control engineer for the radio equipment used on the Apollo missions to the moon. Jim’s job was less glamorous—finding missing equipment on people’s desks. While earning his bachelor’s at the University of Iowa in 1972, he stayed in a room once occupied by a famous astronomer. Jim spent two years at Yale Law School before earning his master of arts in religion, then master of theology from Westminster Theological Seminary. Jim lived in the WTS gatehouse and washed dishes for sixty in the dining club. Jim met Althea Cilley at Trinity OPC, where they are members. Althea’s mother, Dorothy Cilley, was a Great Commission Publication copy editor. Jim married Althea on this date in 1979, narrowly missing a hurricane. One week later, they moved to Scotland where Jim studied for his doctorate in the New Testament at the School of Divinity of the University of St. Andrews. Since nurses were needed, Althea worked at St. Andrews Cottage Hospital, picking up a Scottish accent to fit in. Once an American couple took her photo because they wanted one of their Scottish nurse. Five years later, the Scotts returned to Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, with two daughters and a dissertation to finish.

From 1988–1990, Jim was hired by GCP as the production manager for the revised Trinity Hymnal, working six days and nights a week to complete the project in time to present it to the OPC and PCA general assemblies in 1990. Jim not only learned how to use software to computer-digitize the book, he wrote the modernized versions of the Apostles and Nicene Creeds for the hymnal. In 1994, Jim went from working part–time to full–time at the OPC administrative offices, then in Horsham, Pennsylvania. For most of his 30 years working for the OPC, Jim served as managing editor of New Horizons and as publications coordinator for the Committee on Christian Education.

Even after his retirement in November 2017, Jim continued to serve by overseeing the production of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal and helping with the Thank Offering.

Jim and Althea have four children: Rebecca, Laura, Amy, and Stephen; and two grandchildren.