APRIL TRAGEDIES AND RELIGIOUS EVENTS COINCIDE

At a recent meeting of editors from across the country, the topic was disasters. In particular, the editors discussed how to report on major calamities that can strike any community. Editors from Oklahoma City, Denver, Paducah and Jonesboro, Ark., discussed the bombing of a federal building, the Columbine shootings and the school shootings in Kentucky and Arkansas.

Several of the editors made the same curious comment: They hate to see April roll around on the calendar.

It was one year ago today that two students went to high school in Littleton, Colo., and began a well-planned siege that left 12 students, a teacher and themselves dead. We are now painfully aware that the Columbine massacre left much more behind.

Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the bombing of the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City. Yesterday also was the seventh anniversary of the Waco siege that left some 80 members of the Branch Davidians dead.

An editor from Oklahoma City observed that April is the start of tornado season in that part of the country, and he told of several killer storms that have occurred in late April.

There are so many dimensions to these tragedies. News organizations, of course, see shootings , bombings and storms through the eyes of information gatherers. But the impact of these events weighs heaviest on the victims. And when anniversaries roll around, it is the survivors and the friends and families of the victims who suffer anew.

One Columbine parent said last week: "I wish we could skip April 20."

In Oklahoma City, a memorial was dedicated yesterday. It has much the same impact on visitors as the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. Cape Girardeau visitors have an opportunity this week to see the traveling exhibit of the Wall, as the memorial has come to be known. Emotions at memorials like these can be overwhelming.

In Littleton, Columbine High School classes are dismissed today. Students, parents, teachers and so many others will find their own ways to get through the day. Some will seek activities things that celebrate life to mark the occasion.

For most of America, this week is a time of holy observances leading up to the celebration of Easter. For Jews around the world, this is the week of Passover. And, because of the way these religious holidays are timed by the calendar, they coincide with the anniversaries of Columbine, Waco and the bombing in Oklahoma City.

There is certainly much to reflect on in these somber days. Perhaps it is no accident that all of these events are so close together in our lives. No matter what our religious persuasion, we can offer prayers of hope for all who suffer. And we can join together in our collective "Amen!"