Churches & Places of Worship in Escondido, CA

“HGSA has brought so much good into my life during times of trouble and peace. I'm truly grateful to have been connected with a place offering positivity, guidance, and different spiritual events on a regular basis. In this world it's good to receive help to strengthen my spiritual foundation. Thank you HGSA!”

“Very nice Thai Buddhist temple. During the many Buddhist holidays there are ceremonies inside and outside on the temple grounds. There are weekly services inside the temple and outside there are several stalls with food for purchase, so you can come in the morning and stay for an authentic Thai food lunch. Update: There are a few signs in Thai warning you to mind your valuables at all times, just in case you were thinking it was safe to leave your handbag, purse, or wallet on the picnic table when you went to order your food. There seem to be some outside folks who target the site during events and have been engaging in pickpocketing, purse snatching, etc. There are also some outside folks who target white guys who look like they may be attending the temple for the first time and aren't aware of the customs. I've been to this temple many times so I recognize most of the regular attendees. Today after the monks had left the main temple area to eat their lunch, a lady that I did not recognize came buy with a large metal bowl and only approached the white guys. She said she was collecting for the monks. She was acting as if it was the collection basket/bowl that is passed around in Christian churches. Today was the Buddhist Lent ceremony, so everyone had already given their cash, food, clothing, etc. offerings to the monks as part of the day's ceremony activities. Plus, near the golden Buddha statue there are always many locked wooden donation collection boxes labeled Utilities, Building Improvements, Food for Monks, etc. So there is never a need for a separate collection. The main tip off to this scam was that she only approached the white guys. If it was legitimate, the bowl would have been passed around to everyone while the monks were still in the room. We declined to give her any money. This is such a nice temple with very friendly and helpful monks, we will not let these few bad people spoil it for us. We will just be more vigilant to warn folks if we see people like this hanging around after the monks leave.”

“Salvation Army is awesome! The people who work at the store location on Washington has the nicest people and management. They are super helpful and I love the quality of the items there. They even get donations from local furniture stores and often have new nice stuff! I don't think I've ever been there before without finding something I love!!”