Who are the characters in Home to Harmony?

The main character in Home to Harmony is a pastor named Sam Gardner. He returns home to Harmony, Indiana, after completing seminary school to lead the local Quaker ministry and encounters a variety of situations that are both comical and meaningful. Some of his stories involve sentimental recollections from his youth, which provide the reader with insight into his character as well as the community, which is largely unchanged from the time of his youth.
Most of the chapters are mini-stories in themselves, where Gardner is the narrator, adding humor and wisdom to seemingly everyday occurrences. This gives the reader a sense of familiarity with Gardner, and his stories have a very personal feel. This may be because the main character is likely based on the author, Philip Gulley, who is also a small-town Quaker pastor. Gulley has been declared "the voice of small-town American life" by literary audiences, and Home to Harmony is the first book in what has become a very popular series.