In his charge, the Archbishop thanked his House of Bishops for doing him the honour of electing him to be their leader. He pledged to work hard for the Province and to maintain the team spirit and unity among the bishops. A former vice president of Compassion International, he said his experience would help him to build the Church. He also spoke of the Church being a blessing to the Anglican Communion.

Much of the initiative for the Episcopal cathedral's shift came under the leadership of Dean Gary Hall who was brought on in 2012 amidst years of financial challenges. While cathedral officials have embraced LGBT causes since at least the early 1980s, Hall attempted to invigorate the congregation by bringing it national attention. He proclaimed from the pulpit that "It is not only just OK to be gay, straight, bisexual, or transgendered.

The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Mark Strange, and the Bishop of Huron from the Anglican Church of Canada, Linda Nichols, were amongst international guests present at the Synod.

"We affirm our commitment with the Gospel of Jesus and our belonging to the Anglican global family," the Province's statement said. "We also hope to keep walking together with those who disagree with us as we discern how to better respond to the challenges ahead of us in our contexts."

In an AD CLERUM (to clergy only) Freier reiterated that, irrespective of changes in the marriage law, there is no change in the Anglican Church's position on officiating in or performing a same sex marriage. They cannot.

Recently, three retired Anglican clergy with Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Melbourne took part in an event where a same-sex marriage was celebrated in Melbourne. Here is what Freier wrote: