GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A federal appeals court has upheld the firing of a former spiritual director whose marriage failed while working for a Christian campus organization.

Alyce Conlon worked for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship since 1986. She served as spiritual director in Grand Rapids from 2004 to 2011 before she says she was fired when her marriage broke down.

U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist said last year that the ministerial exception to employment claims, which was recognized in a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court opinion (Hosana-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and Schools v. EEOC), barred Conlon's claims.

Related: Broken marriage led to woman's unfair firing at Christian nonprofit, lawsuit claims

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling on Thursday, Feb. 5.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, or IVCF, is described as an evangelical campus mission that serves students and faculty at colleges and universities around the country. Its purpose is "to establish and advance at colleges and universities witnessing communities of students and faculty who follow Jesus as Savior and Lord: growing in love for God, God's Word, God's people of every ethnicity and culture and God's purposes in the world."

It believes in the sanctity of marriage.

When significant marital issues arise, the organization "encourages employees to seek appropriate help to move toward reconciliation. IVCF will consider the impact of separation or divorce on colleagues, students, faculty and donors," records showed.

Conlon, as a spiritual director or Spiritual Formation Specialist, told her supervisor, Marc Papai, in March 2011 that she and her husband were considering divorce. Papai put her on paid leave, under IVCF policy, to provide her a chance to save her marriage.

Both Papai and her new acting supervisor, Fred Bailey, were actively involved in the effort, court records showed.

They refused her requests to return to work.

In a Sept. 12, 2011, email, "Bailey stated knowing falsehoods to several individuals that (Conlon) did not make efforts to reconcile her marriage," and put her on unpaid leave.

In a letter, Bailey wrote: "It is with sorrow that we acknowledge that

reconciliation has proven unsuccessful. We have not seen enough progress to continue the process any longer. As a result, effective Dec. 15, 2011, your employment with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA will be terminated."

Her husband, David Reimer, filed for divorce in January 2012.

The appeals court said this is the first such "ministerial exception" case since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Hosana-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and Schools v. EEOC.

Both sides agreed that the ministerial exception would typically apply in the case, but Conlon argued that IVCF had waived the exception after proclaiming on its website that it is an equal opportunity employer that hires without regard to marital status, gender or other factors. She claimed that two men who worked for the organization were not fired after they divorced.

The appeals panel said the Supreme Court agreed with long-recognized appellate court rulings that "the existence of a 'ministerial' exception,' grounded in the First Amendment, ... precludes application of (employment discrimination laws) to claims concerning the employment relationship between a religious institution and its ministers.'"

The appeals panel said that while IVCF is not a church, it could assert the ministerial exception. The court also determined that while Conlon did not have a title of minister her role as spiritual director, which required specialized training, was sufficient to fall under the exception.

"Because IVCF is a religious organization and Conlon was a ministerial employee, IVCF's decision to terminate her employment cannot be challenged under federal or state employment discrimination laws," the appeals panel concluded.

"The Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses do not permit federal or state courts to adjudicate such matters when the defendant properly asserts the ministerial exception as an affirmative defense."

The Supreme Court earlier ruled: "The interest of society in the enforcement of employment discrimination statutes is undoubtedly important. But so too is the interest of religious groups in choosing who will preach their beliefs, teach their faith, and carry out their mission. When a minister who has been fired sues her church alleging that her termination was discriminatory, the First Amendment has struck the balance for us. The church must be free to choose those who will guide it on its way."

John Agar covers crime for MLive/Grand Rapids Press E-mail John Agar: jagar@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterJAgar