People in South Africa are taking part in a day of prayer and reflection for Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday.
President Jacob Zuma is attending a service in a Methodist church in Johannesburg, with other multi-faith services planned throughout the day.
At the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, priest Sebastian Roussouw said the late president had been "a light in the darkness".
A national memorial service is due to be held on Tuesday.
Mr Mandela will be given a state funeral on 15 December.
South Africans have been holding vigils since Mr Mandela died at home the age of 95, after several months of ill health.
President Jacob Zuma had urged South Africans to go to stadiums, halls, churches, and other places of worship on Sunday to remember their former leader.
"We should, while mourning, also sing at the top of our voices, dance and do whatever we want to do, to celebrate the life of this outstanding revolutionary who kept the spirit of freedom alive and led us to a new society. Let us sing for Madiba," he said, using Mr Mandela's clan name.
1918 Born in the Eastern Cape
1943 Joins ANC
1956 Charged with high treason, but charges dropped after a four-year trial
1962 Jailed for five years for incitement and leaving country without a passport
1964 Charged with sabotage, sentenced to life
1990 Freed from prison
1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize
1994-99 Serves as president
2004 Retires from public life
2010 Last major public appearance at football World Cup in Johannesburg
In Sunday's service at the Regina Mundi Church - which acted as a vital meeting place during the apartheid era - Father Sebastian praised Mr Mandela for his "humility and forgiveness".
"Madiba did not doubt the light. He paved the way for a better future, but he cannot do it alone," he said.
In Cape Town, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said Mr Mandela was a powerful and continuing reminder that individuals do have the power to make change happen in the world.
Mr Mandela's successor as president, Thabo Mbeki, will attend a service at the Oxford Shul synagogue in Johannesburg in the afternoon.
Other senior politicians and ANC officials are attending services across the country, in what correspondents say it an attempt to involve more scattered communities.
'Guard of honour'The focal points for public remembrance have so far been Mr Mandela's house in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton and his old home in Soweto, where mourners have lit candles and laid thousands of wreaths of flowers.
Mr Mandela's body will lie in state on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the heart of the South African government in Pretoria, before his funeral on Sunday.
His body will be taken each day from the mortuary to the city hall through the streets of Pretoria.
Members of the public have been encouraged to line the route and form a "guard of honour".
The government has also given further details of the state funeral arrangements.
- Tuesday, 10 December is the day for South Africa's official memorial service at the FNB Stadium on the outskirts of Johannesburg, which will attract world leaders as well as ordinary South Africans
- Between 11-13 December, "selected international visitors and guests" will be able to view Mr Mandela's remains at the Union Buildings in Pretoria
- His body will be transported on Saturday, 14 December, from Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria to the Eastern Cape, with a procession from the airport at Mthatha to his home village of Qunu where a traditional ceremony will be held.
- A funeral service will take place at Qunu - where Mr Mandela grew up and later retired to - on Sunday, 15 December
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Family spokesman: "In our hearts and souls he will always be with us"
US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend Tuesday's memorial service, along with three other former US presidents, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
One government minister has predicted the 95,000-seat stadium being used for the event will be overwhelmed, and promised that overflow areas would be set up.
Flags at all official buildings are to remain at half mast throughout the period and books of condolence are being circulated across the country and online for people to post tributes, record memories and express their emotions.
A government statement recalled the former president's own thoughts when asked how he wished to be remembered.
"It would be very egotistical of me to say how I would like to be remembered," Mr Mandela said.
"I'd leave that entirely to South Africans. I would just like a simple stone on which is written, 'Mandela'."
In their first public statement, on Saturday, the Mr Mandela's family likening him to a baobab tree that had provided shade and protection.
The former South African leader spent 27 years in jail before becoming the country's first black president in 1994.
He served a single term before stepping down in 1999.
Mr Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 along with FW de Klerk, South Africa's last white president.
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