© 2023 Dr Margaret Sheppard

Setlhabelo and Ditapelo Services -

(Sacrifice and Prayer Services).

These services are held in times of special trouble. They are usually  prophesied as necessary to rectify an individual’s or family’s problem by Prophets during church services.

It has already been mentioned that the Zion Churches of the third category can further be sub-divided into those that do believe in sacrifice and those that do not. Of the ones that I particularly visited Bethlehem and Episcopal did not practise sacrifice services, whereas the others did. Both sub-categories however, held special Ditapelo (Prayers) services.

These services would be held at a family home when the family was suffering either from illness, bad luck or other types of misfortune. The family would then request the church to visit their home to  diagnose the cause and the cure. Services would involve the usual praying, singing and dancing, only on those occasions the prophets would particularly request the Spirit to show them what especially was wrong in that home and how their problems, troubles and illnesses could be healed. Typically other churches would be invited so that more prophets would be present.

Further details of both these services follow in the sub sections.