Give vocal support to the church, always (5)
I believe the answer is:
cheer
'give vocal support' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both human attributes as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's an association between them I don't understand?
'the church always' is the wordplay.
'the church' becomes 'ch' (common abbreviation).
'always' becomes 'eer' (poetic way of saying ever).
'ch'+'eer'='CHEER'
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for cheer that I've seen before include "provisions for feast" , "Root" , "Encourage - applaud" , "one in three, perhaps" , "Applaud with shouts" .)