Kind female in front of a church font (8)
I believe the answer is:
typeface
'font' is the definition.
('typeface' can be a synonym of 'font')
'kind female in front of a church' is the wordplay.
'kind' becomes 'type' (type is a kind of kind**).
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'in front of' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'church' becomes 'ce' (abbreviation for Church of England).
'type'+'f'+'a'+'ce'='TYPEFACE'
(Other definitions for typeface that I've seen before include "Style of font" , "Baskerville, perhaps" , "Style of printing surface" , "Style of print" , "Printing surface of any character" .)