How to Do the “Here’s the Church, Here’s the Steeple” Finger Game

Learn this classic children’s game and nursery rhyme

Co-authored by Carmine Shannon

Last Updated: August 4, 2023 Fact Checked

The “here’s the church” nursery rhyme is a fun and simple finger game for children (and the young at heart) to play. If it’s been a while since you constructed your little church, or if you want to play for the first time, we’ve written out a comprehensive list of how to do it. Read on to become a finger church pro.

1

Lace your fingers together

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Create the body of the church using your fingers. Open your hands and hold them about an inch apart. Turn your palms towards each other and put your fingers to the sky, then interlace your fingers so your digits face downwards, and your thumbs stay facing up.
- Keep your thumbs straight and pointing up at this stage. They will eventually create the doors of the hand church.
- If you’re having difficulty lacing your fingers, face your hands down and put them back to back, then push your fingers together and close your hands.^{[1]
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2

Press your thumbs together

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Make the doors of the church with your thumbs. Keep your thumbs straight up and down and press them together—all your other fingers stay locked. You’re now ready for the first part of the rhyme: “Here is the church.”^{[2]
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- At this point, the tops of your knuckles on both hands form the roof of your finger church.
- Don’t leave any space between your thumbs.

3

Point your index fingers up

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Use your fingers to create the steeple. Press the pads of both index fingers together while still holding them upward to make the steeple. Keep the rest of your fingers interlocked and your thumbs pressed together. Now it’s time for the next line: “Here is the steeple.”^{[3]
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- Make sure your fingers are in a triangle and touching at the top.
- Steeples have specific meaning to the church; some historians believe they symbolize Christians’ desire to lift their hearts and minds up toward heaven.

4

Open your thumbs

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Pulling your thumbs apart creates the open door. Swing your thumbs apart while holding your pointer fingers together. As you do this, keep your other fingers locked and tilt your wrists slightly upward to show the locked fingers inside your hands. Now say: “Open the doors and…”^{[4]
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- Your locked fingers are the people sitting on pews inside the church.

5

Wiggle your fingers

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Use your fingers to show the people inside. They represent the people you’ve just revealed by opening the doors. Make those guys dance and say the final part of the rhyme: “See all the people!”^{[5]
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- Say the last two lines (“open the doors and see all the people”) without any pause in between.
- You don’t have to wiggle your fingers, but it makes the whole ritual more fun.

6

Add the last line of the rhyme

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"Here’s the parson going up the stairs. And here he is saying his prayers."^{[6]
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- If you include this step, the rhyme can be a good way to encourage children to pray.
- A parson is a member of the clergy, especially Anglican.
- There’s another alternative ending that goes: "Close the doors, and let them pray. Open the doors and they’ve all gone away!" To do this, close your thumbs, then open your hands almost all the way, with your pinkies touching. This will surprise and thrill small children when they see the parishioners have vanished.

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Question

What if I'm not religious?

Peter C

Community Answer

This doesn't mean you can't do this rhyme. You could do the church version or the barn version. Anyone can do either version.

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What if you aren't religious?

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You could substitute the church for a barn, if you wanted, or just eliminate the part about praying at the end.

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Do you have to move your fingers inside the church?

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It's more fun for children to move their fingers as if the finger people are moving inside of the church, but it's up to you!

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This rhyme is a great way for children to improve their coordination and use their imagination!^{[7]
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There’s also a secular version of this game, called “Here’s the Barn:”
- “Here’s the barn, open it wide, let’s go inside where the animals hide. Here are the horses, here are the cows, they’re eating their dinner and drinking right now. They’ll stay here till night turns into day. When we open the doors, they’ll all mosey away. Out in the pasture, they’ll eat grass and hay. The cows will moo softly, the horses will neigh.”^{[8]
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  - It has the same hand gestures, just without the steeple. When you say, “here are the horses, here are the cows,” wiggle one side of your fingers, then the other. For the rest of the rhyme, make your fingers dance however you please!
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