People in South Africa are taking part in a day of prayer and reflection for Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday.

At the Bryanston Methodist church in Johannesburg, President Jacob Zuma urged South Africans not to forget the values Mr Mandela stood for.

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's body will lie in state in Pretoria on the following three days and he will be given a state funeral on 15 December.

About 60 heads of state and government have confirmed they will attend the memorial service or the funeral, the government says.

South Africans have been holding vigils since Mr Mandela died at home at the age of 95, after several months of ill health.

Addressing the congregation in Johannesburg - including members of the Mandela family - Mr Zuma praised Mr Mandela for his commitment to peace and reconciliation.

"He stood for freedom, he fought against those who oppressed others. He wanted everyone to be free."

In Sunday's service at the Regina Mundi Church - which acted as a vital meeting place during the apartheid era - priest Sebastian Roussouw 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, referring to Mr Mandela by his clan name.

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.

Mourners and wellwishers there 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 at 07:00 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 family will view the body on Wednesday morning before the public are allowed to file past from 12:00.

The government has also given further details of the state funeralarrangements.

• 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 and will be addressed by President Zuma with tributes from other heads of state
• The memorial service will be shown on big screens at three "overflow" stadiums - Orlando in Soweto, Dobsonville north of Soweto and Rand in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville
• Between 11-13 December, "selected international visitors and guests" will be able to view Mr Mandela's remains at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
• The public will be able to view the body from 12:00 to 17:30 on Wednesday and from 08:00 to 17:30 on Thursday and Friday
• 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
• A national day of reconciliation will take place on 16 December when a statue of Mr Mandela will be unveiled at the Union Buildings in Pretoria
• Some 90 screens will be set up across the country to show all planned national events

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.

Many other heads of state will be there, including Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.

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.

International figures will also attend the funeral in Qunu. The Prince of Wales will represent Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace says.

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, Mr Mandela's family likened 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.