I have been on a few days' break. And a break wouldn't be a break without some shopping. On the list was a new jacket for me. So we popped into M&S – of course.

Approaching the till having selected a jacket, the assistant spotted the Memory Café polo shirt I was wearing.

'Oh that's interesting, what that all about?' she asked.

I started to tell her about our café and we got speaking about the huge problems of loneliness and the trauma of dementia. I could see she was most moved.

'We get people in here and it's so sad to see them with dementia or people who have lost a loved one. We try to help and to be a friendly voice. But what can you do? I'm just so glad that you are doing something.'

The sheer profundity of this is hard to measure. This lovely lady with a heart for those in need has been struck down with a sense of helplessness in the face of the tragedy visited largely upon older folk.

I have spoken to friends who work in banks and feel the same way. They want to come out from behind the counter and really help older folk who have become confused with money or are lost or who haven't seen a living soul all week. And banks are doing much great work training staff in recognising people with dementia and knowing how to respond. In an atomised society there is deep need for communities of care.

As our great brands disappear from the high street, it is deeply worrying to think about who will still be there with the time to show some care to those who are lost and lonely.

I wonder if this reflects a sea-change. Despite our welfare state and all the modern marvels of life right now we just do not know how to be part of a community of caring. We so want to help, we so want to be part of the solution but where to start?

The church understands the social gospel – thank God. We are so well-placed to be the answer to loneliness and the disaster of our minds deteriorating.

I am optimistic about the church. I am optimistic because I believe that we have the best news there is and because God is close and already out there doing his work. But the sheer relief on the face of the assistant at M&S about the fact that someone was doing something about the tragedy that is enfolding around us signals that we have a huge opportunity to encourage volunteers, show God's love in action and to start a fightback against the hopelessness that says that things are going to the dogs.

Rev Steve Morris is the parish priest of St Cuthbert's North Wembley. Before being a priest he was a writer and ran a brand agency. In the 1980s he tried to become a pop star. Follow him on Twitter @SteveMorris214