Behind the scenes at St. Cyprian's Church on Turk and Lyon, a new nonprofit organization has been taking shape. Middle Circle is a community group that seeks to build and nurture a church-style community among its city-living neighbors—minus the church. Instead, it organizes events and meetings to "fulfill the needs of urban neighborhood dwellers." 

"For many, churches and religious organizations have been the primary way people have found meaning and community in their lives," states the group's website. "Today, however, many people no longer look to church or religious organizations to fill their needs for community and meaning. We seek to fulfill those same needs, but in a way that works for us today."

St. Cyprian's (2097 Turk St.) has long been a center for community gatherings, events, and sermons. While it's a fully-functioning Episcopal church, it's also played host to pizza and politics nights, fundraisers, and NOW! Community Festival events. Middle Circle was established this year after polling and researching the community to learn exactly what they're looking for, said organizer Keva DeKay. 

Middle Circle defines social interactions as fitting into one of three circles. The inner circle is one's closest family, friends and loved ones. The outer circle consists of acquaintances one occasionally runs into. But the "middle circle," which consists of neighbors and community friends, is often hard to maintain in the big city. DeKay said that many of the people polled were missing "community, curiosity, belonging, service/social good, connection, engagement, and love."

The Middle Circle team analyzed human-centered design survey results to identify what the community is searching for. 

 "There’s a gap that modern American life is no longer fulfilling with the dramatic loss of the 'Middle Circle,' a community composed of familiar and friendly people who may differ from us in socioeconomic background, race, age, and education level," said Reverend Anders Peterson, who is the community chaplain and director of the Middle Circle Initiative. "They're the people who will support and care for us in times of need and challenge us in our viewpoints, expanding our horizons. This is the problem Middle Circle is trying to solve."

Identifying a need is one thing, but actually addressing it is another. Middle Circle's approach is to organize a number of regular meetings, workshops and community events that can bring neighbors who might not otherwise interact with one another together in one space.

The Social Good group prepares a meal for those in need.

Ongoing events organized by Middle Circle include 7 Gens, which encourages members of multiple generations to come together for group activities like bowling and bocce, and Social Good, which centers around community service—at its next meeting, on October 11th, attendees will prepare and serve a meal at the Navigation Center.

Some events occur more regularly, like pop-up yoga, which meets every first and third Thursday of the month, from 6-7pm. A philosophy circle meets on the third Thursday of the month from 7-10pm to discuss "age-old philosophical questions" about the cosmos, good and evil, and other topics. Brewosophy, a beer-enthusiast's gathering, takes place from 6-9pm on the fourth Thursday of the month. The group gets together to brew beer collectively and enjoy a meal. 

Although it's tied to St. Cyprian's Church, the group takes pains to emphasize that it is not tied to any religion. The one group that touches on religious matters is Spirituality and Brunch, which meets monthly at a different spiritual center and processes its teachings over a subsequent brunch. For its first meeting, the group visited St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in Potrero Hill, followed by brunch at The Tradesman; this month, Buddhist meditation is on the schedule. 

Later this fall, Middle Circle plans to hold a large-scale community event at the Red Victorian in Upper Haight. Details are still being worked out, but mark your calendars for November 14th. 

In the meantime, any community members who would like to get involved or host an event can reach out to Middle Circle online.