The Catholic Spirit: MCC's Adkins on National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors: 'There's a reciprocity there'

Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, served on the executive committee of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors (NASCCD). He is now the president of the NASCCD and will serve until August 2028.

The NASCCD is important, Adkins told “Practicing Catholic” co-hosts Leah Heselton and Father Tom Margevicius for an episode that debuts July 31 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.

“We only have limited knowledge, limited resources, (and) there’s endless issues to cover,” Adkins said. “We really lean on each other. We learn from each other about issues that are coming down the pike, how to frame up issues, what works, what doesn’t. It’s a really invaluable resource to have such talented, faithful colleagues with whom we can collaborate and coordinate.”

The conference meets twice a year to have these discussions, strategize and pray for each other. As the NASCCD president, Adkins will be coordinating annual meetings.

“A lot of it’s just logistics, making sure there’s good content and programming for the members, that we’re providing service for the members,” Adkins said. “But also it’s really important that the executive committee sit down and say, ‘What are our members’ needs, what challenges are they facing? … We always say advocacy is people, policy, process. Well, where in those three ‘p’s’ do we really need a little bit of extra formation.”

This year, the NASCCD met in Monterey, California. Next year will be in Lexington, Kentucky. In 2028, the NASCCD will come to Minnesota, meeting in Duluth. From this organization Adkins has seen three kinds of fruit: Friendship, fellowship and formation.

“This is a unique role to be a state Catholic conference director, and I think there’s a lot of joy in it. There’s also a lot of challenges, a lot of struggles, and we need to encourage one another, pray for one another, hear what’s working in some states, what’s not working, learn from our experiences. We borrow heavily from one another. I hope we create enough quality material and content, and good public policy strategy in Minnesota that our colleagues in other places can learn from us as well, so that there’s a reciprocity there in terms of giving and receiving those gifts and strategies.”

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