For a second time, Phyllis Patrick has been diagnosed with cancer. She beat breast cancer 13 years ago, and she wasn’t about to let colon cancer get in her way this year.

She and her husband, Joe Patrick, of Trenton, agreed to organize a coat drive and dinner for members of The United Methodist Gathering in Christ, a downtown Middletown church led by the Rev. Carrie Jena, one of Phyllis’ friends.

Quitting or stepping aside was out of the question.

“It was on my heart,” Patrick said of the project. “I could never have stopped. God has His way of taking care of all of us.”

Jena called Phyllis “an amazing woman.”

Phyllis and Joe Patrick called all their family and friends from surrounding communities asking for them to donate coats. One coat turned to 10, turned to 100, and by the time it was over, they had 175 coats.

Then they thought while the people were at The Gathering picking out coats and other winter items, they may want to eat, too. So they called Hatem Shteiwi, owner of the Gold Star Chili on Oxford State Road, and asked if he’d help them by reducing his prices.

He did more than that. A lot more. Shteiwi showed up and fed everyone chili spaghetti for free.

Jena described him as “a humble man.” She said he has agreed to assist the church with additional projects, and feed the homeless when the church hosts SHALOM, a church-based homeless project, next month.

Shteiwi called assisting the needy “part of our obligation to our community.”

He said it’s “wonderful” to make a difference.

“Those of us who are a blessed with business need to give back to the needy,” he said. “As a business leader, we must be willing to show what happens when you have one community, one family, one neighborhood.”

The Patricks certainly have shown the power of one couple.

Patrick was diagnosed with breast cancer 13 years, right about the time she and her husband agreed to volunteer for Middletown Habitat for Humanity. She helped build a home two days before her left breast was removed.

Then, about a month ago, the cancer was back, this time in her colon. She was reintroduced to Life Ain’t Fair.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Patrick said. “You never know what’s happening in your life.”

Her husband said the second bout with cancer only has her “more determined.”

Then he added: “That’s the way she is.”

So there Phyllis was at the church, always smiling, organizing the coats, making sure everyone picked out the right size. About 140 coats were distributed that day, and the rest were donated to another local coat drive. Joe Patrick said he remembers one father who was at the coat drive with his little daughter. The man asked if he could pick out two coats. When Joe said everyone was allowed one coat, the man said his brother needed one.

“Man, that was touching,” Joe said.

This project, Jena said, shows what happens when everyone shares “a common passion.”

She was talking about the church, Phyllis and Joe Patrick and Shteiwi. They should name a dish in their honor.

How about a four-way?