 He is married to Marion Paterson.Paterson began his ordained ministry with a curacy at Whangarei.He was then the vicar of Waimate from 1971 to 1976 where he also had chaplaincy and administrative posts before being ordained to the episcopate as the Bishop of Auckland on 24 February 1995; he served in that role until 2010, and as Primate of New Zealand, 1998–2004.