What do you expect from the Lambeth Conference? If you think we will receive an official, authoritarian, pontifical statement on sexuality, homosexuality, blessing the union of same-sex couples and the ordination of gays, you will be disappointed. It would be quite unreasonable to expect such a statement to be developed by a less-than-three-week gathering of more than 800 bishops from a great variety of backgrounds. Gone is the day of the Lambeth reports from the early part of the century when a much smaller gathering of bishops of largely English background met in Lambeth Palace.

I attended the 1978 and '88 conferences, which were held at the University of Kent in Canterbury. The significant role of the conferences was not in statements but in sharing.

There was sharing in worship. Each morning we gathered for the Eucharist, using the rite of yet another part of the Anglican Communion. There were liturgical insights, but we knew it was Anglican. More importantly, every day we shared in the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. Our unity was in the Lord Jesus who died for us, who ever lives to make intercession for us.

There was sharing in Bible studies. We gathered in small groups from around the Communion. The intellectual approach and the experiential approach shared insights. We discovered a unity in observance of the word of the Lord.

There was a sharing of fellowship. It was a wonderful experience in the dining room at each meal to sit with someone from a different part of the world. Breakfast with a South African bishop, lunch with a Japanese bishop and dinner with an English bishop cannot be beaten.

There was a sharing of concerns from around the world. How were we to regard homosexuality? How were Ugandans to receive new believers who were in polygamous relationships? How could the faithful in Burma maintain a true witness? It was enriching to know of the different problems being faced around the world in the Anglican Communion.

There was a sharing of insights. Looking at our faith and mission, we received insights from as widely diverse backgrounds as Nigeria, New Zealand and Canada. Most of the big questions cannot be resolved with simple answers, and it is essential to be open to the differing insights that lead us to the Truth.

Lambeth is a sharing experience. Do not expect it to solve the problems of the Episcopal Church. Both those who look for a liberal answer and those who seek to maintain biblical truths will be frustrated by Lambeth's silence. Rather, pray for Lambeth that our bishops will all be enriched with a wider vision both of the truth and of the mission of the Anglican Communion. Our Communion is not one, uniformly organized church, but is a family of national churches. That is the way it developed, and it is a wondrous fellowship. We can be grateful that the Archbishop of Canterbury continues to call together our bishops to experience and share in this fellowship. o

The Most Rev. Reginald Hollis is the retired Archbishop of Montreal.