They're plugged in to Pastor freely welcoming State prosecutor (8)

I believe the answer is:

adaptors

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'they're plugged in' is the definition.
The definition suggests an adverb but the answer is not.

'pastor freely welcoming state prosecutor' is the wordplay.
'freely' indicates an anagram.
'welcoming' indicates putting letters inside (in sense of 'inviting in').
'state prosecutor' becomes 'da' (district attorney).
'pastor' with letters rearranged gives 'aptors'.
'aptors' enclosing 'da' is 'ADAPTORS'.

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for adaptors that I've seen is " plug-in devices".)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times (Crosaire) and the Irish Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.