Michael Whitman said when he went to make a plaque for Mary Annice Fenn, it hit him that this had to be some kind of record, and not just at his church.
“This year marks her 70th year as choir director here,” said Whitman, pastor of Louisville Baptist Church. “One of her sons and I went to digging into it, and Guinness World Records, longest choir director, continuous service — the record was set in 2019 at 57 years, 320 days.”
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Fenn technically would’ve had the record then too if Guinness World Records would’ve known, Whitman said — and now she “has shattered that record with 70 years of service.”
‘She’s so faithful’
The church honored her for her long tenure Dec. 14, the same day as their annual Christmas cantata, and they’ve applied to have her record recorded officially by Guinness.
“It will take some time for them to verify it and all that, but whether it’s official or unofficial, we know that she started when she was 16 and she is the world record holder,” Whitman said. “It is absolutely amazing. She’s so faithful — she doesn’t miss church.”
Fenn said she is “certainly humbled” by the opportunity to serve at the church for so long.
“The Lord has been good to me,” she said.
It all started when her piano teacher told her she had to join the choir.
“When I was growing up, I took piano from the lady who was the organist and choir director at the church,” she said. “One day she told my friends and me that it was time for us to sing in the choir. My friends weren’t happy about having to go to practices, but I was.”
Doing it ‘with the Lord’s help’
A little while later, Fenn’s piano teacher told her she was moving.
“She said, ‘I’m going to go out West, and you’re going to need to take over the organ and the choir,'” Fenn said. “I was 16 years old, in the 10th grade.”
That might’ve seemed like a lot for some, but for her, it was “a surprise and a blessing,” she said. “I thought I could do it with the Lord’s help, and the pastor and his wife encouraged me.”
Seventy years later, she’s still leading it.
“I’ve loved it and lived here and been a member of this church since I was a little girl,” Fenn said. “I’ve enjoyed it and had so many wonderful people through the years who have been in the choir, even my dad. … In every way, God has blessed me.”
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