WESTBROOK — In Biblical times a well was a place where people could go to get nourishment, hold meetings, seek services and socialize. Fast forward 2,000 years later, Green Tree Ministries is bringing its vision for a modern-day well to the corner of Captain Bill Hartley Avenue and William Clarke Drive.

Owned by Faye Wilson, Green Tree Ministries is putting the finishing touches on a new building at 20 School St. that will house a conference room, a lending library and Seedlings Play Place. The building will also house Roots Cafe.

Co-owned by Lorraine Fagela, Aimee Fortier and Wilson, the eatery will offer fair-trade coffee roasted in Winterport and handmade soups, salads and gluten-free bakery items, including cupcakes and crepes in a cone. The cafe will source as many of the ingredients as possible locally.

“What God made for us to consume is what we will allow on our plates,” she said.

The cafe, set to open Saturday, Sept. 15, has ample indoor and outdoor seating and plans to eventually open a rooftop deck. The cafe will be open Monday through Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Green Room will offer a conference space for groups to meet free of charge. Wilson sees the space being used by 12-step programs and teen mother groups, for example, and used for CPR training, Bible studies and Green Tree programming.

Next to the Green Room, Green Tree Ministries will provide to the public a free lending library of books for all ages dealing with topics such as healthy living, addiction, depression, marriage, self-harm, kindness and grief, along with books to, as Wilson said, “make a person feel better and make the world better.”

The library, she said, will be trust-based, meaning the public can borrow and return books anonymously.

“If you are taking a book on a sensitive topic, no one would know,” Wilson said.

While the library will also have Bibles to give away, Wilson said it is not her intention to instill anyone with a certain religious belief.

The Seedlings Play Place, Fagela said, “will be a safe place for kids to play while their parents are in the cafe or conference room.”

Parents who are using the cafe or ministry section of the building can drop their children off or sign up for a block of time of up to 90 minutes. Wilson said the room will have toys, games and movies appropriate for children 8 weeks to 6 years old.

Although she lives in Windham now, Wilson is excited to bring this concept to Westbrook.

“My heart has always been in Westbrook. I love the community here and this was the perfect place to do this,” she said.

Wilson said the location, former Pan American railroad land, is a dream come true.

“We never could have dreamed we could have a location like this one,” she said. “I am in shock and awe.”

Fagela agrees.

“This is a great place to offer this concept,” she said.

Whether it through Roots Cafe or Green Tree Ministries, the idea is to spread kindness and goodwill.

“Our goal is to offer positively every day and every hour we are open and to show love and kindness to others. We don’t always see that everywhere we go,” Fortier said.

For more information about Green Tree Ministries, visit greentreeministries.net. More information about Roots Cafe can be found at rootscafeme.com.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 781-3661 x 125 or mkelley@keepmecurrent.com or on Twitter @mkelleynews.

Lorraine Fagela, Faye Wilson and Aimee Fortier are the trio behind a new building at 20 School St., Westbrook, that aims to spread positivity through Roots Cafe and Green Tree Ministries.