The generation gap

I attended a church social function last night which was organised by members of the morning congregation. For the most part the people at this event were in their 60s and upwards, with the exception of our little group in which the average age was early 30s - all under 50, anyway. We had an enjoyable time, but one thing I found very depressing was that the older people kept coming up and thanking us for being there. Not in a "thanks for coming" polite way, but in a way that suggested they were genuinely grateful that we would bother to spend some of our precious time with old people. That makes me so sad, and ashamed at the same time. What kind of world is this - what kind of world are we making - where older people feel so neglected that they have to thank younger people for giving them some time? And this was in a church where you would expect generations to mix... what is it like in the wider community?