Recipe for a liturgical train wreck

Ingredients:

• 1 - inconsistently present music director (he is still in school and has committments he made prior to being hired, so it is understandable)
• 3 - substitute organists with whom many of us are only slightly familiar
• 1 - "shepherd" who throws too many new pieces (esp. new-to-us Masses without a music director to teach them to us) at the cantors and choir without giving us adequate time to learn said new pieces.  AND he wants these alternated so that it makes it more difficult to lead a congregation who will not be comfortable with the new masses because they do not have enough time to learn them.  He does not seem to understand (or care) about what we cantors/choir know already and the fact that we are going through a major adjustment in the music ministry. 
• 6 (or more) - choir members who left for other parishes when the former choir director resigned (not that blame lies there either - it is just part of this recipe)
• 3 - yes, so far, only 3 cantors to keep up with 3 Masses each week.  We are in trouble when someone is sick or out of town.
• 1 choir area that has been once again rearranged - we lost chairs right under one of the choir mics
• 1 sound system that the cantors (who knew how to adjust things in an emergency) are now locked out of

SIGH.  Mix all ingredients together and you get - a train wreck?  A bad taste in one's mouth?  Whatever it is, it is not good.  With a full choir, masses with which we are familiar, and consistent practices, we can keep things afloat - but when you add in the fact that over 1/2 the choir was absent for this week's choir Mass and we do not have choir practice until further notice, you might as well throw in the towel.  (Trust me, the temptation is there to just let our "shepherd" do it all, since he is so intent on micromanaging it all.)

How to rescue this recipe?  PRAYER and meditation.  St. Cecilia, pray for us!

That all said - I love the vocation of the priesthood.  I pray for all priests.  I am most certainly praying a LOT for mine...   I am also praying intently that our music ministry be less shackled and get back to ministering to the hearts of the parishioners.