A CHURCH has assured its community they will have a chance to follow the lionesses without missing their Sunday morning service.

St Lukes Church in Bournemouth will be finishing its 10am service in time for the Women’s World Cup final kick off at 11am.

The place of worship will then show the match on the big screen for its parishioners and members of the public.

Rector of the parish, the Reverend Canon Michael Smith, said: “We have shown big events at the church before, like the Coronation.

“If we didn’t show this then we’d be missing out on something.

“It’s a big event - it's the World Cup final, so we want to get into the spirit of it.”

Reverend Smith expects a “good number” of people will want to watch the football, and it’s a benefit if they can “watch together as a group”.

He added: “For some people, its slightly less intimidating than going to the pub to watch it.

“We’re providing a family friendly space for people to watch the game.”

The church will offer coffee, tea and refreshments throughout the game, although people are welcome to bring their own picnics and drinks.

Everyone is invited to watch and will not need to have attended the Sunday morning service before.