Judas Table | The Welcome Table

A six-week journey through Lent toward Holy Week, exploring betrayal, grace, and restoration at Christ’s table. Blending intentional time with the LORD with food’s narrative symbolism, seasonal/local ingredients, and practicality for communal Lenten meals.

What if, instead of distancing ourselves from Judas during Lent, we invited him to the table?

What if his story of betrayal and isolation was not only a warning but also a mirror for our communal failures?

This Lenten season, The Welcome Table invites you to consider what it means to sit with Judas—offering space for confession, grace, and the possibility of return.

Blending intentional time with the LORD with Food's narrative symbolism, seasonal/local ingredients, and practicality for communal Lenten meals.

Each week will include:
~ Scripture reading & weekly reflection ~
~ Blog posts ~
~ Invitations to weekly Table practices ~
~ Writing prompts ~
~ Multiple ways to engage ~
~ Recipes aligned with practices ~
~ Share the meal or dine alone ~

~ Week 1 ~
Setting Tables for Betrayers

What if Jesus never meant for the table to be filled with perfect people? In this opening reflection, we’re invited to consider Judas not just as a cautionary tale—but as a guest Jesus still welcomed with open hands and broken bread. It’s an uncomfortable, grace-filled beginning that asks us to name who we’ve quietly written off—and dares us to set a place for them.

~ Week 2 ~
Bitter Herbs

Bitterness has a taste, and we’ve all swallowed it. This week explores the lingering sting of betrayal, especially when it comes from the people we thought we could trust. We reflect on what it means to sit with the pain, let it be tasted, and still choose to remain at the table.

~ Week 3 ~
Broken Bread, Broken Trust

To break bread is to extend trust—but what happens when that trust has been fractured?Jesus doesn’t withhold the meal from those who will abandon him; instead, he meets betrayal with generosity.

This reflection invites us to hold our brokenness honestly, and wonder if sharing the bread might be the first step in mending what's been torn.

~ Week 4 ~
The Unseen Guest

Sometimes people walk out quietly—and we don’t notice until it’s too late. This week focuses on those who feel invisible, forgotten, or uninvited from the community table.

It’s a call to open our eyes and make space before someone slips away into the night like Judas did.

~ Week 5 ~
Carrying the Weight

Restoration requires more than acknowledgment—it requires shared burden. This week invites us to rethink how we serve one another, especially in seasons of pain, failure, or shame.

What would it look like to be a community that doesn’t let each other carry grief alone?

~ Week 6 ~
The Last Supper, Again

We return to the table one last time—not in sorrow, but in sacred celebration. Even with all our betrayals and brokenness, Jesus still sets the table, still offers the meal, still makes peace.

This final reflection is a resurrection invitation: to keep preparing the table for those who thought they were lost—including ourselves.

We cannot do this alone and need your help to carry forward the mission and invitation we have said yes to. Won't you join us? The Pantry Society isn’t just about filling shelves—it’s about sustaining lives and futures. Monthly sustainer support through this program creates the steady, dependable foundation our mission needs to operate with consistency and care. These gifts fuel our mission at The Welcome Table, including second-chance job training programs, keeping the culinary pantry stocked for classes, mentorship, and alternative paths for youth, and allowing us to respond in real time to our neighbors transitioning out of their crisis.

In a world of unpredictable giving, The Pantry Society donors ensure that hospitality, dignity, and nourishment are never interrupted. It’s not just a donation—it’s a partnership in restoration.

More Info

An Interactive Study

A six-week journey through Lent toward Holy Week, exploring betrayal, grace, and restoration at Christ’s table. Blending intentional time with the LORD with food’s narrative symbolism, seasonal/local ingredients, and practicality for communal Lenten meals.

~ Week 1 ~ Setting Tables for Betrayers

~ Week 2 ~ Bitter Herbs

~ Week 3 ~ Broken Bread, Broken Trust

~ Week 4 ~ The Unseen Guest

~ Week 5 ~ Carrying the Weight