Care to protect church ground (6)
I believe the answer is:
minced
'ground' is the definition.
(as in minced meat)
'care to protect church' is the wordplay.
'care' becomes 'mind' (I've seen this in another clue).
'to protect' is an insertion indicator.
'church' becomes 'CE' (abbreviation for Church of England).
'mind' going around 'ce' is 'MINCED'.
(Other definitions for minced that I've seen before include "Cut into small pieces or walked daintily" , "Walked affectedly with short dainty steps" , "spoke affectedly" , "ground" , "Cut into small bits" .)