Christmas is a time to gather with the family and loved ones. For many older people, however, the festive season, and for that matter the rest of the year, can be much lonelier.

|PIC1|The local Salvation Army Corps in Lewisham held a Christmas dinner and carol service for the older members of the community - a heartfelt effort to bring companionship and care to the one million older people that the Help the Aged charity estimates will spend Christmas alone this year.

The (almost entirely female) crowd of elderly guests are remarkably sharp and as bright as buttons when they pile into the centre at midday, along with elderly members of the Over-50s and Home League, a Salvation Army women's ministry founded to promote home skills.

Far from the stereotypical "grumpy" old man or "doddery" old lady, the room is filled with the lively chatter of daily life as the special guests gather their Christmas cards together and give them out to each other and to the Salvation Army officers.

After this time of card swapping and chatting finishes everyone is gradually ushered into a small cosy hall laid out with four long tables complete with Christmas crackers and red candles, with the Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce not far behind.

For a few of the guests, this will be the only treat they will enjoy this Christmas, yet the atmosphere is anything but contrived. It is filled with genuine affection and closeness.

Brenda, 76, said, "I love this place, it gets me out, otherwise I would not go to any club. I love it here. They are so friendly here, all of them."

Captain Leanne Cordner and two Salvation Army majors had prepared the meal since early morning, yet the elderly guests receiving the dinner were just as likely to get up and help take out the dishes and tidy up and help out in whatever small way they could.

Following the dinner and dessert everyone gathers in an adjoining chapel for tea and biscuits and a carol service. With cup of tea in one hand and carol book in the other everyone proceeds to sing all the traditional favourites of "O, Come all Ye Faithful" and "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and many others.

It is clear that the elderly visitors appreciate not just the Christmas dinner but the continued presence of The Salvation Army in their community throughout the year.

Vera, 71, said, "I go to my own church which is a Roman Catholic church. But I come here most Sunday's for evening service and then I help out through the week for the dinners and have lunch Tuesdays and Thursdays... Through coming to the Army I've learned a lot."

Most of those present have at least some remaining family members with whom they will be spending Christmas Day

Brenda told of her plans, "I'm going over to my daughter's on Christmas and Boxing Day. She's got two girls, two boys and then she's got a granddaughter."

Vera will be busy catering for ten people this coming Sunday, "I lost a son this year to cancer, about three months ago now, so I've got his wife coming and two of the grandsons and I've got my daughter coming with her husband and the two boys."

Captain Martin Cordner, who co-runs the Lewisham branch with his wife Captain Leanne, said that there would be only two ladies at the dinner who would be spending Christmas Day on their own this year. There are many more in the UK who will be facing a similar day, he adds, however.

"In the wider scheme of things in Lewisham, in London and the nation there's a big need, there are a lot of people who don't have anyone," he said.

"Hopefully the things we can do - like what we have done today - are able to counter a bit of that loneliness and let people know that life is a journey we share together and they don't have to be on their own."

The event is just one of many ways The Salvation Army is working to bring comfort and compassion to people this Christmas. Other outreach initiatives have included visits to lonely and housebound elderly people, offering food, clothes, sleeping bags and shelter to the homeless, and giving toys to the children of poorer families.

For Captain Martin, the inspiration behind such outreach lies in the Salvation Army ethos of filling the needs of those around as key to spreading the gospel.

"If you go back to the New Testament and see what Jesus did, before he could speak to someone about the Kingdom or move them on in their faith he would meet their need," he says.

"William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, that was his big thing. He said you can't preach to a man who has an empty stomach. So you first have to feed him, that's his immediate need isn't it? Then his spiritual need can be nourished as well.

"That's how we view life and spiritual life here ... if we can meet needs - whatever it might be. Kids need looking after, after school and coming to the youth club we can take care of them, or whether it's pensioners and people with different learning needs."

And why does he do it? Captain Martin always hopes that those who are helped will see Christ who is at the heart of the good work.

"We want to try to identify those needs in the community and we want to try and meet them. Our prayer out of doing that is that they might come to have a knowledge of Jesus Christ," he enthuses.